A Matter of Blood Andi Marquette

Matter

Blood

Andi

Marquette

Mindancer Press

Bedazzled Ink Publishing Company * Fairfield, California

Far Seek Chronicles 2

reproduced or transmitted in any means, electronic or

mechanical, without permission in writing from

the publisher.

978-1-934452-56-1 paperback

978-1-934452-57-8 ebook

Library of Congress Control Number: 2010917214

Cover art

Winona Nelson

Mindancer Press

a division of

Bedazzled Ink Publishing Company

Fairfield, California

http://www.bedazzledink.com/mindancer

Acknowledgments

Thanks to all who read this in draft format, pointing things

out and suggesting fixes, changes, and re-routes. Much
appreciated, gang! You know who you are, and drinks are on
me next time I see you. Thanks, as well, to artist Winona
Nelson, who created the cover painting. Much appreciated,
Winona! Thanks, as well, to the crew at Bedazzled Ink, for all
the editing, pdf’ing, and cover organization. And a shout-out
to my muses, who continue to send me storylines when I least
expect it (always appreciated, though), ensuring that the Far
Seek Chronicles keep me wanting to see the next galaxy, and
some day maybe fl y a fi ghter ship in a rebellion against the
forces of darkness.

And fi nally, many thanks to you, the reader, for spending

some time with me, Torri, Kai, the crew of the Far Seek, and
the others who populate these pages. May you always fi nd the
safest trade routes and the best spaceports in your travels.

Torri glared at the vidscreen and went through the data

again, scanning the lines of information and Saryl’s fi ndings.
Damn. This completely ruined the original plan. There was no
way they could drop the spice cargo at Burnside Holdings then
conduct recon at Tinsdale without attracting Coalition
attention. She looked up at Saryl, seated across from her at the
same table, glad they were alone in the mess. Saryl brushed at
the front of her shirt and exhaled in frustration.

“I’m always grateful for your cryptographic and

hacking skills,” Torri said. “But sometimes, I hate it when
you’re right.” She sighed and sat back, interlacing her fi ngers
behind her head as she stared at the smooth metal panels of the
ceiling. “This adds a new dimension. And not in a nice way.”
Damn again. Why can’t anything be simple? And why can’t I
just let things remain as they are between me and Kai?

“We just can’t make a traditional merchant run to Vegas

Sector,” Saryl said, a shrug in her voice. “So we’ll come up
with a plan that either demonstrates our complete lunacy or
complete brilliance.”

“The two not mutually exclusive.” Torri continued staring

at the ceiling. “Why is the Coalition limiting merchant traffi c
in that part of the sector?” She dropped her gaze back to Saryl.
“There are few outposts. There’s no need for a constant
stream. How many merchant runs does that sector get every
year?”

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“Fifty or so. Maybe four every month.”
“Exactly my point.” Torri leaned forward again and rested

her hands on the table, where a map of Vegas Sector glowed
from within. “Offworld merchants only?”

“No. Earthbound as well.”
Torri glared at the red-highlighted area, which encompassed

the entire Tinsdale holdings north of Burnside and unclaimed
territory farther north of Tinsdale, too toxic for human life. And
probably most life in general. Residue of the Fortunata Wars
three hundred years earlier, when the Empire came to power
on the carcass of the Planetary Alliance. The Empire hadn’t
been perfect—what governing body was? But even at its worst,
the Empire couldn’t match the scale of brutality and scope
of venality that defi ned the Coalition—barely in its infancy,
snapping the Empire’s neck not ten years ago. Torri sighed.
How I dread its adolescence. “Where in Vegas Sector do the
comms originate?”

“North of Tinsdale Holdings. About thirty standard Earth

miles.” Saryl glided her fi ngertip over the tabletop, adding a
blue tinge to an area of the map that might have been ten square
Earth miles.

Torri contemplated the spot. What would the Coalition

want to trace out there? Kai had said two months ago that
the Coalition was mucking about on her family’s holdings, but
limiting traffi c in this way indicated they were up to something
more than just simple training missions. Were they beaming
comm signals as locators in addition to warnings? “Run another
analysis on mineral content in that area. And water sources. A
full geophysical overview.”

Saryl complied, her long fi ngers barely grazing the opaque

surface of the table’s control panel.

What’s there? Torri replayed her last visit to the region, two

years before she graduated from the Academy. That was . . .
maybe eight years ago. Nine? Barren desert landscape broken
by ragged buttes and irregular rock formations. Wind-battered
and dirt-laden, valuable for few resources beyond minerals and

A Matter of Blood

what the most intrepid settlers coaxed or forced from the soil
through tech-farming. Kai had taken her all over her family’s
holdings, beyond the tea fi elds, to the borders of the unclaimed
territory. What does the Coalition want? She looked up as Jann
entered the mess, yawning and stretching.

“We’ll be in Earth’s orbit in thirty hours,” he announced.

He scratched his abdomen through his customary black shirt,
then tucked it into his trousers, also black. “Any further
instructions—” He stopped tucking and stared at the map
glowing from within the table. “Don’t tell me,” he said after a
few moments. “Coalition trouble in Vegas Sector.”

“Are they that transparent?” Saryl fi nished running a data

access code and looked up at him. “We should let them know.
Their actions aren’t secret and their code shields don’t work
very well. Maybe we’ll get a reward for our efforts.”

“Good idea,” he said, fi nishing his ministrations with his

shirt. “And they’ll forgive us our past transgressions against
them, and we can retire to our own holdings.” He looked at
Torri. “How bad is it?”

She motioned to the bench next to her for him to sit, which

he did. “It’s the Coalition.” She pointed to the area in red on the
map. “It’s always bad. The question is the matter of degree.”

He leaned forward, studying where she pointed. “So they’ve

got . . . what there?”

“I’m guessing the beginnings of a new military base,” Saryl

said. “And the comms are limiting merchant travel throughout
Vegas Sector. That’s a new directive, by the way.” She glanced at
Torri. “Within the last two weeks. I can’t track who ordered it.”

Torri tapped her chin, thinking. Too bad. That might tell

them something more, whether it was a local Coalition order
or if there were higher-ups behind it.

“Damn,” Jann muttered, voicing Torri’s thought. “Why do

they always go slagging around in our schemes?”

“My thoughts exactly,” Saryl said. “A whole series of

galaxies out there and they have to focus on this one, this
province, this sector.”

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“Didn’t we go through this recently?” Jann sat up straight,

pretending to think. “Oh, yes. I believe it was two months ago.
An opal run in Newburg, wasn’t it? Which is on the other side
of Earth. Why can’t they leave this poor planet alone?” He
sighed plaintively. “Or why can’t we?”

Torri grimaced, and Saryl pointed at the vidscreen. “Here’s

the analysis. It’s dry in that area they’ve co-opted, dry in
Vegas Sector, and dry throughout Amer Province. Consistent,
this part of Earth. Groundwater is practically nonexistent and
most of the mineral resources were mined before Fortunata.
That leaves whatever the settlers can produce or control. Here,”
she pointed at an area marked Tinsdale, “they’re famous for
their tea crops.” She looked at Torri, the infl ection in her
statement implying “but you knew that already.” Empire
allowed for such nuances in its cadences, emphases, and
varying accents. Which was why it had remained the dominant
language of commerce and social gatherings, the Coalition’s
ascent to power be damned.

“Maybe there’s a tea-addicted Coalition offi cial who wants

it all,” Jann volunteered with a scowl.

“Tea is a lucrative cash crop,” Torri said, “but it’s a long-

term profi t investment. Not a short-term source of quick
money.”

Jann ran his hand over his bald scalp, a contrast to his thick

eyebrows, two-sided triangles, each apex centered over his
upper eyelids. The ends of his brows barely touched just above
the bridge of his nose. “And we all know the Coalition likes
short-term economic windfalls to line their pockets. Like, say,
a shipment of a specifi c type of opal in a market-cornering
scam. Growing tea and shipping it to various distribution
points . . . that’s something the Empire, not the Coalition,
would have been sniffi ng around. Deals with local farmers and
all that.” He looked from Saryl to Torri. “There’s something
down there they want. And if the Coalition is already limiting
traffi c, then that something is valuable.”

“True. But it may not be something that has market value.”

A Matter of Blood

It may be something as simple as a grudge, she thought. Or
perhaps a future marriage . . . “What holdings immediately
border Tinsdale besides Burnside?”

Saryl tapped the tabletop, and another map appeared,

overlaying the original. “Ansi to the east, Sen to the west.”
They all waited as another layer appeared. “Burnside’s to the
south, as you know. Any of the other two familiar?”

Torri thought a moment, going through her memories of her

last visit to Tinsdale. “I know the names, but not much about
the politics. Can you intercept comms from these holdings to
determine if there’s a wedding or some kind of alliance that
might involve the Coalition?”

“Good angle,” Jann said. “Now I see why you’re the

captain and I’m but the lowly quartermaster.”

“And Finder of Exquisite Bargains,” Saryl teased. “No one

barters as well as you.”

He pretended to preen. “At last, my talents are acknowledged.

But enough about me. What sort of plan do you think is in
order here?”

“A good one.” Torri raised an eyebrow at him. “But we need

more information in order to make it.” She opened a commlink
with a thought. “Jindor, please join us in the mess. We have
need of your opinions on a matter.”

“Aye, aye,” came the response. “Five minutes. Out.”
Torri addressed Jann then. “I’ll need you on the bridge to

spell Jindor.”

He pretended disappointment. “I never get to hear the girl

talk.”

“I’ll make sure you know all the details,” Saryl said,

making an adjustment to the map.

“In that case . . .” He grinned. “Your leave, Captain?”
“Dismissed. Run a few navscans. See if you can fi gure

anything out. Confi ne them to Vegas Sector.”

“Done.” He moved to the far end of the mess to generate a

meal, and Torri turned her attention back to the map.

“We need to know what’s brought the Coalition to Vegas,”

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she said to Saryl. “So we can plan around it. I don’t like
engaging them if we don’t have to.”

“Unless it’s an opportunity we can’t pass up.”
“I’m not certain this is that opportunity.” She pondered the

map a moment, wracking her brain for something, anything, that
might provide a clue about the Coalition’s interest in the region.

The mess door slid open, and Jindor entered, passing Jann

as he exited. She took a seat next to Saryl, which created a
juxtaposition in size. Saryl stood almost seven feet tall. Sitting,
she still dwarfed Jindor, a petite Malrusian who barely
reached fi ve feet standing. The effect was almost comical
because today, Jindor wore a tan shirt and dark blue trousers
while Saryl was dressed in a dark blue shirt and tan trousers.
Saryl grinned down at her and offered a greeting. Jindor smiled
back and nodded at Torri.

“Captain.”
“At ease.” Torri gestured with her chin at the map within

the table between them. “What do you make of it?”

Jindor studied it for a long moment. “Vegas Sector. I take

it you’ve discovered some unusual Coalition activity north
of the Tinsdale holdings.” She arched one fuchsia eyebrow,
a match to her hair color, and a contrast to the deep green of
her eyes.

“We have. Saryl’s run a geoscan and found that this area has

few, if any, minable resources and even fewer agricultural.”

“With the exception of tea,” Jindor replied evenly. “And

grapes for vinting. But that’s a long-term investment, and the
Coalition prefers short-term thievery.” In the nuances of Empire,
her statement connoted not only an observation of Coalition
preferences, but a personal connection to them, and not good.
Jindor had no love for the Coalition, and Torri suspected her
past was riddled with scars from wounds it had infl icted, but
she didn’t press, and Jindor hadn’t offered more than a few
comments in crew banter. She’d only just joined the Far Seek
two months earlier in Newburg, and Saryl had found nothing
beyond what Jindor claimed and what she’d revealed to Torri.

A Matter of Blood

Secrets. Everybody had them. As long as they didn’t interfere
with the Far Seek’s livelihood, Torri left them alone.

“Indeed. And whatever it is they’ve decided to exploit there

is valuable enough that they’re limiting merchant traffi c.”

Jindor looked at her in surprise. “Even local Earthbound

vessels?”

Torri glanced at Saryl, and Jindor looked up at her.
“That’s an affi rmative. All merchant vessels.”
“Which means our original plan—”
“Is on its way to a boneyard.” Saryl called up more data on

the vidscreen but Jindor ignored it, instead directed her
attention at Torri.

“Have you considered some kind of alliance in play with a

local offi cial? Perhaps a marriage?”

Torri smiled, pleased that Jindor’s approach echoed hers.

“Saryl’s checking that angle.”

“No merchant traffi c,” Jindor mused aloud. “So to get into

Vegas Sector, we need some kind of clearance. Something that
even the Coalition won’t refuse.”

“Like what?” Saryl pulled up genealogies of the Tinsdale

holdings and those that bordered it. “Medical?”

“No,” Jindor said, studying Saryl’s fi ndings on the vidscreen.

“That requires too many permits and the Coalition always targets
medical transports as potential smuggling venues.”

Torri tracked Jindor’s fi nger on the vidscreen, interested to

see where her thoughts would take her.

“Mercenaries.” Saryl caught Torri’s eye. “That’s my favorite.”
“Maybe,” Jindor muttered. “May I?” Her fi ngertip hovered

over the screen, and Saryl got up to switch places with her.
“But if it’s a lockdown op, they’re not going to employ
mercenaries for that . . .” She trailed off as she moved images
and genealogy charts across the screen. She was following one
of her hunches, Torri knew.

“I know.” Saryl sat up, triumphant. “Pleasure envoys.”
Jindor stopped what she was doing. She looked from Saryl

to Torri, who fought a laugh.

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“Wouldn’t you pay a goodly sum to dress our fearless leader

in the robes of an envoy? Bathed and perfumed? Made up like
a Vaneth synthetic, perhaps.”

Torri gave her an “in your wildest dreams” look.
“I’ve heard those synthetic pleasure envoys have three

breasts,” Saryl continued. “We could grow one in medical for
you.”

“I’m quite happy with the two I have,” Torri shot back.
“And I’m sure many others are also happy with them, too.”

Saryl waggled her eyebrows, and Jindor was suddenly
extremely interested in the vidscreen again. “But imagine how
much happier you’d be with three.” Saryl made kissing noises
at her.

Jindor cleared her throat before Torri could reply. “The

Coalition targets pleasure envoys as smugglers, as well.” She
ran her fi ngers over the vidscreen, and the image there appeared,
larger, on the tabletop. “But yes, I would pay a goodly sum
to see the captain in that outfi t.” She fl ashed a wicked grin at
Torri, who rolled her eyes and looked down at the table.

“This is the Ansi genealogical chart,” Jindor said, putting

an end to further descriptions of what Torri might look like as
a pleasure envoy. “Regent Evoran is current holder. His oldest
daughter is nearly twenty Earth years old.” Jindor pointed to
the name on the chart. “She is not bonded.”

“Neither are a lot of us,” Saryl commented. “And?”
“According to your data, the Ansi line maintains Alliance

traditions.” Jindor touched the tabletop, and an image of some
kind of festival appeared.

Torri leaned forward. “It’s a Corderan,” she said, recognizing

the symbols on the banners.

Saryl’s expression registered confusion.
“It’s one of many rituals that developed after the fi nal

Administration collapsed on Earth,” Torri said.

“And?”
“And in the subsequent Reorganization, when the Alliance

established itself across Earth and then in the other Quadrants,

A Matter of Blood

survivors on Earth developed new customs that fused history
and myth. The Alliance encouraged it—rulers thought it best
that Old Earth retain a certain nostalgia, to prevent any kind
of ill will and political uprisings. The Empire encouraged it,
too, after replacing the Alliance.” Torri paused. From tragedy
we create pleasantries that mask the past’s true meanings.
She nodded at Jindor to continue, though she knew Jindor had
probably already picked up on Torri’s thought before she’d
actually made the gesture. Most Malrusians were either fully
telepathic or extremely intuitive. Torri hadn’t decided which
best described Jindor.

“Survivors thus created new family lines,” Jindor said with

a glance at Torri before she focused on Saryl. “And to create
alliances with other families through mate-bonding, the rituals
needed to be public. Or, barring that, a visual announcement
that a family member is not bonded and thus available for
potential suitors.”

“That’s what a Corderan is.” Torri pointed at an Earthman

in the image who wore a red jerkin belted at his waist and red
trousers tucked into black boots. He held a long, red feather.
“He’s available. This is his family’s announcement about it.”
She thought about the Corderan her father had never held for
her because she’d run away to the Academy at sixteen. The
decision had come with a hefty price. She hadn’t spoken to
anyone in her family for over fi fteen years. At this point, it was
for the best, since they believed her dead, fi ghting the Coalition
in the Collapse. Torri was certain her father had been mortifi ed
to hear of her activities, and no doubt relieved that she was
gone.

“But sometimes, the ceremonies are just a formality,” Jindor

was saying, “because a bondmate has already been chosen.”
She called up another database and read through the entries.
“And here, Regent Evoran has proudly announced the
Corderan of his daughter Liyah, in two months’ time.”

Torri leaned forward, seeing where Jindor was going.
“We’re not on the guest list,” Saryl said, bemused. “And

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what do we do for the next two months? Though I’m sure the
captain will fi nd something to keep us busy.”

“Wait, Saryl,” Torri said, still looking at the image. “Think

about it. A ceremony like this requires food and liquor. And
whatever else guests need to ensure they have a good time.”
She looked up then.

Saryl’s eyes widened. “And they’ll need merchant ships to

bring them the goods. Of course. Evoran will have to apply to
the Coalition for special exemption.” She drummed her fi ngers
on the edge of the table, thinking. “How will we get on that
merchant guest list?”

Torri caught Jindor’s gaze. “We need more time than just a

delivery. We can’t justify staying longer than a day, even under
an exemption. That’s not enough time to fi nd out what interest
the Coalition has in the Tinsdale holdings.”

Jindor nodded and returned to searching databases.
“Captain, a word?” Saryl’s voice carried an edge that Torri

recognized as requesting a private audience. They’d worked
together too long for her to ignore it.

“My quarters.”
Saryl nodded once and stood, towering over the table.

Without another word, she turned and exited, ducking to avoid
the doorjamb which hung lower than the ceiling.

“Shall I continue with this project?” Jindor inquired as Torri

stood.

“Please. I’ll check in later.” Torri didn’t wait for a reply as

she strode from the room. She didn’t expect one.

“May I speak freely?”
Torri waved her hand in a brusque, “go ahead” motion. Saryl

had seated herself on the couch in Torri’s cabin, which was
more a cushioned bench attached to a wall than an actual piece
of furniture.

“This is slagged.” She crossed her arms and studied Torri’s

face, expression hard but patient.

Torri clenched her jaw, but she remained silent, giving

Saryl room to speak her mind.

“This isn’t a money-making venture. We’re going into a

situation that involves huge risk and little profi t. Given the
current situation, we can’t even sell and off-load the spice cargo
we’ve got without losing a large piece of our collective ass.
You know the Coalition’s going to charge every merchant it
grants exemptions to. And probably half the price what we’d
get for any cargo.”

Torri hooked her thumbs on her belt. “Sometimes what we

do involves risks we have to take.” And sometimes those risks
don’t have much to do with money.

Saryl stared at her. “We? I didn’t sign with you to be a

constant piss-gnat in the Coalition’s ear.”

“But you knew that was part of the deal. We can’t do what

we do without expecting Coalition interference.” She kept her
tone soft but fi rm.

“Nobody can, Torri.” Saryl used her given name, a liberty

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that she and only one other person could take with her.
It hovered between them, an unwelcome guest under these
circumstances. “And that’s not the point,” Saryl continued.
“You’re deliberately taking us into a Coalition hive, and we’re
getting little, if any profi t for it. We might as well walk into
a High Council meeting and request that they arrest us. That
would save us and them the trouble we’re taking with this
mission.”

“Burnside will pay fi ve hundred thousand for the cargo,”

Torri insisted.

“And half of that will go to the Coalition, if not more, for

the privilege of letting us through the restrictions. And then
what? We tell the Coalition, ‘oh, by the way, we’re just going
to visit the Tinsdale holdings and see what you’re doing over
there. We’ll only be a day or so.’ ” Even without the linguistic
nuances that Empire provided its speakers, Saryl had injected
extra sarcasm into her statement, though beneath it ran a
current of frustration.

“You agreed to this mission before we completed the opal

contract two months ago.” Torri punctuated her remarks with
her fi nger. “You agreed to the spice run to Vegas Sector and
you knew that included recon at the Tinsdale holdings. Which,
I recall I told you, was under Coalition watch. You knew that
two months ago.” Torri held her patience tight, where it hung
brittle in her throat, tasting like an old wound. “We invent
reasons to deceive ourselves once emotion trumps logic.” Torri
grimaced at the lesson, one she’d learned from her fi rst tutor,
an ex-soldier her father thought might be a good idea. It was,
but not for her father.

Saryl stared at her, an intensity in her gaze that Torri

rarely saw, and never directed at her. “This isn’t just about
a spice run or even recon, is it.” She didn’t phrase it as a
question.

Torri clenched her teeth, the truth of Saryl’s words a harder

slap than a physical action. I’m deceiving myself, at the
expense of logic. She studied a spot on the smooth metal wall

A Matter of Blood

past Saryl’s shoulder, seeing Kai in her mind’s eye. Kai,
who chose duty over liberty, who thought perhaps the latter
somehow sprang from the former, but whose rank in the
Coalition armed forces couldn’t quite override her loyalty to a
fellow Cadet. Couldn’t quite override her connection to Torri.
I can’t ignore that, no matter how illogical it is.

“No,” she admitted. “It’s not.”
“Tell me.”
Torri sighed and moved to the wall to her right and pressed

a panel that slid open, revealing a compartment that held
a cobalt bottle and four actual glasses, antiques she’d
acquired after the Collapse. More a symbolic link to a past she’d
abandoned than an affectation, Torri rarely used them. This,
however, was an occasion that demanded it. She triggered the
table, which slid out of the wall beneath the panel, and set two
glasses on it. She poured both a quarter full from the bottle, a
sharp, earthy smell accompanying the pale lavender liquor, and
returned it to its spot before she closed the panel.

“In the absence of understanding, hospitality is the

height of diplomacy,” she quoted as she walked a glass to
Saryl.

“Better a bottle than a battle,” Saryl quoted back, her

fi ngers nearly enclosing the entire glass. She lifted it to her
nose and sniffed, then stared at Torri in surprise. “Granazh. I
haven’t had this in years.” She sniffed it again and closed her
eyes, savoring. “I won’t even ask where you got it.”

Torri shrugged. “I have some friends in high places.” She

smiled and raised her glass in a toast.

“And many more in low.” Saryl raised her glass as well

and sipped, an expression of delight on her features. “I had
forgotten how good this is.”

Torri let the liquid sit on her tongue for a few seconds

before swallowing, as she’d learned from a Cadet out of
Vector Quadrant. Saliva triggered all the layers of its fl avors—
the Cadet likened it to the four ancient elements: earth, air,
fi re, and water, each with a distinctive taste that evoked the

Andi Marquette

characterization of those elements. As Torri swallowed, the
elements and tastes blended and unwound like silk down her
throat. Drinking Granazh was as much about the way it felt as
about its taste.

“There must be an important reason for this venture, if

you’re plying me with this,” Saryl said after she’d taken a sip.

Torri half-smiled and took a seat to Saryl’s left on the bench.

She braced her forearms on her thighs, her hands clasping her
glass between her knees, watching the Granazh settle from her
movements. “I’m doing the recon on Tinsdale Holdings to
return a favor.”

“Care to elaborate?”
“Not really.”
“I thought not. So do it anyway.”
Torri nodded and took another sip from her glass, the liquor

fl ooding her senses as well as her mouth, smoothing her mood
and teasing the story from her memories. “I lost my Academy
bunkmate to the Coalition,” she said after she swallowed. “But
I never believed she’d gone completely over. I knew her too
well, and she’s not Coalition. Military, yes. But not Coalition.”
She stared into the liquid. No matter how many times Kai put
on the uniform, she would never be completely theirs. She’d
demonstrated that in Newburg, and almost two years before
that, in Hallifi n Port, on the far end of Paltor Quadrant, where
Coalition offi cials sent problem soldiers or soldiers they wanted
to test for loyalty. Kai was neither a problem nor disloyal. But
from her actions at their last meeting, she most certainly wasn’t
completely Coalition, either.

Saryl sipped, keeping silent.
“She knows I’m alive.” Torri kept staring into the glass, the

liquid reminding her of bottles of Ryzin Solstice she’d shared
with Kai over the years, like the ones she’d smuggle into their
quarters at the Academy.

“Is that good or bad?”
Torri sat back. “Depends on the circumstances. As long

as she does her job and does it well, it’s just information she

A Matter of Blood

has. As far as the Coalition is concerned, I’m a rebel soldier
killed in action at Shanlin some eight years ago over Mangone
Swamp. My name is in her fi les because we were bunked at the
Academy. I’m also listed as dead in her fi les. I’d like to keep it
that way, for her safety and mine.”

Saryl grunted in understanding. “She’s affi liated with the

Tinsdale holdings, I take it.”

“Her father is the holder.”
Saryl half-laughed. “Ah. Some things are now making

sense.” She sat back as well, stretching her legs out in front of
her. “Does she know what you want to do?”

“No. I won’t put her at risk like that.”
Saryl sipped again before speaking. “She was in Newburg,

wasn’t she?”

Torri didn’t respond for a while, thinking instead about the

contract they’d picked up in Newburg, and the forces that had
brought Kai there to break smuggling rings. Like their chance
meeting nearly two years before, they’d breached the boundaries
that had separated them during the Collapse, and beneath Kai’s
uniform, she was still Torri’s bunkmate, still a Cadet, but much
more, and that link would remain between them as long as life
allowed. “She was. You met her, after a fashion.”

Saryl swirled the liquid in her glass, thinking. “The captain.

When we made the opal switch at Vintooth. That’s her.” She
glanced at Torri for confi rmation.

“Very good. Yes. That was her. We had a conversation prior

to what happened at Vintooth, and I asked about her family,
and she mentioned a bit of trouble with the Coalition at her
family’s holdings.”

Saryl nodded in a way that Torri recognized as empathy.

“I don’t pretend to understand how the Academy operated, or
what kinds of relationships Cadets made.” She turned her head
so that she could look at Torri’s face. “But I do understand a
connection. And if Pir had survived the Collapse, and I knew
that the Coalition was making trouble for his family, I’d want
to know what that was about, too.”

Andi Marquette

“My apologies,” Torri said softly, thoughts of Kai

wrenching her heart but her responsibility to her crew tearing
at her gut. “I’ve been unfair to you and the crew and let my
personal feelings interfere with my judgment.”

“It happens sometimes.” A wan smile tugged at the

corner of Saryl’s mouth. “Where some people are concerned,
we sometimes lose our better sense.” She shrugged. “I
suppose if we didn’t, what would we fi ght for? Why would we
bother?”

“No, you’re right.” Torri stood. “This is slagged. Let’s see

how much we can get for the spice and fi nd another contract
elsewhere.” As important as Kai was to her, she had nearly
risked her entire crew in a dangerous decision because she’d
allowed emotion to trump judgment. She drained the remainder
of her glass and set it on the table. There had to be another way
to fi nd out what the Coalition was doing at Tinsdale. “Let’s put
in a comm to Burnside. See if we can get more for the
shipment, given the current situation.”

Saryl shifted her weight forward, but she didn’t get up from

her seat. “In some ways, we’re still fi ghting the war, aren’t we?”

Torri turned back to her, and the expression on Saryl’s face

reminded her of their fi rst meeting at Magellan Port, in a bar
that mercenaries and black market pilots frequented. Torri
needed a crew. Saryl needed a ship and a captain. And as they
came to understand about each other, they both needed to avoid
the Coalition. “I’ll always be fi ghting it,” she said. “I don’t
know how not to.”

“That’s what this is,” Saryl said softly. “A battle in the war.”

She drank the last bit of Granazh in her glass. “What would we
be looking for at Tinsdale?”

Torri rubbed the side of her face. “I’m not sure. Kai told

me the Coalition was pressuring her family to sell part of its
holdings. She’s not sure why. As you’ve seen, there’s not much
by way of resources in the area. I suggested rumors of a
like-mind uprising. You know how the Coalition likes to put a
stop to those as quickly as possible.”

A Matter of Blood

“Is someone in her family playing politics? Using the

rumors to further ambition? And are they just rumors or is there
something afoot?”

“Rumors. But she said it’s possible that someone in her

family might be deal-making. I’m leaning toward her sister’s
husband, though not because he sympathizes with them. He’s
more the self-preservation type.” And a likable fellow. Kai’s
brother, though, might want a quick power jack. She’d have
to think about that. “And we don’t necessarily have to go to
Tinsdale. We can probably collect enough information through
Burnside and even the other holdings. We don’t need to draw
attention to ourselves.”

Saryl held her empty glass in one hand and tapped it with

the fingers of the other. “If you found out what’s got the
Coalition skitched over these holdings, what would you do
with that information?”

“Pass it to Kai. She has a personal stake in knowing what

the Coalition really wants with her family’s holdings.” And I
have a personal stake in Kai.

“I agree. But if you found out, say, that there’s a serious

like-mind rebellion that’s got the Coalition nervous, I’m sure
there are a few others who’d like to know that, as well.”

Torri crossed her arms and regarded Saryl, interested to see

where she’d take this. “Go on.”

“And there are others who’d no doubt pay two to three times

what Burnside’s offering for the spice shipment for that kind
of information. Especially if there are specifi cs about Coalition
plans and armaments.”

Spying. Of course. But was she willing to sell what she

considered the fruits of a personal favor?

“You can sell anything on a black market.” Saryl stood,

her spiky white hair pressed against the smooth ceiling. She
set her glass on the table next to Torri’s. “And for information
like that, you’d get a high price. We might pretend to think
like-mind networks are nebulous, but we’ve heard enough in
the past six months to know that some are well organized and

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spreading.” In the melodious nuances of Empire, Torri heard
not only a proposal, but Saryl’s agreement to scout Tinsdale.

“There’s a market for everything,” she concurred.
“And lots of ways to acquire items.” Saryl inclined her

head. “Let’s fi nd one of those ways.”

Torri nodded in dismissal, and as Saryl moved to the door,

Torri spoke again. “Thanks.”

Saryl paused and caught Torri’s eye. “You’d do the same for

me.” And then she was gone, and the door slid shut behind her.

Torri stared at it for a while before she vacated as well. She

wanted to check in with Jindor. They had just over a day before
they entered Earth’s orbit.

“We could disguise ourselves as musicians.” Jann took

another bite of whatever he’d ordered from the ship’s food
stores.

“No musician visits outposts like this that often.” Saryl

dipped her fi ngertips in her glass of hasha and fl icked some
liquid at him. “That’ll look suspicious.”

“Not if we’re offering our services for a Corderan. They’ll

need music.”

“But that doesn’t allow us a reason to stay beyond one day,”

Torri pointed out. “I doubt any of the other holders would be
desperate to hire musicians so soon after a Corderan. Most
holders have their own staff for that.” The edge of her tray
had started to liquefy, so she took it to the bin and disposed of
it then punched in the code for hasha. She needed an energy
boost. She’d been up for nearly an entire day, and they were no
closer to fi guring out how to extend their stay in Vegas Sector
beyond the Burnside delivery.

“Think,” she directed Jann and Saryl as she re-seated

herself at the bench on her and Jann’s side of the table. “Who
would have immunity from Coalition meddling?”

“Coalition offi cials,” Jann said with a shrug.
“Or Coalition bootlickers,” Saryl offered.

A Matter of Blood

“And people who lick other things on Coalition offi cials.”

Jann grinned.

“Has anyone here licked a Coalition offi cial recently?”

Torri asked. “And would you be willing to do it again?”

Saryl laughed. “Not recently, sorry.”
“Damn. No favors you can call in?” Torri addressed Jann,

trying to appear hopeful.

“Don’t look at me. It’s been so long since I’ve licked

anything that I’ve considered joining one of Cyllea’s
monasteries.”

“Not a bad idea.” Saryl fl icked more liquid at him. “You’d

for sure get some licking in, when all those monks got a look at
a strapping Artoran like you.”

“Careful,” Jann said. “You might make me think you’re

interested.”

This time, Saryl fl ipped a forkful of what looked like bean

paste at him. It hit him on the chest, and he used his fi nger to
wipe it off.

Torri took a gulp of hasha. It tasted of cinnamon and pepper.

Not a bad version of it, for a ship’s stores. What she liked was
that it worked quickly. “Are there any monasteries in Vegas
Sector?” she asked after she swallowed.

“Why? You don’t seem to be lacking in the lick category.”

Jann shoulder-bumped her.

“Because maybe a monastery needs a traveling musician,”

Torri shot back. “Saryl can set that up for you.”

“No monasteries,” Jindor said as she entered the mess. “No

public temples, either.” She sat down on Torri’s left and ran her
fi ngers over the tabletop, calling up a database that appeared
within the table. “But that’s working in our favor. I checked
the comms for the past hour, and Regent Evoran has put in a
request at the nearest temple—the rather distant Flori Sector—
for a blessing from the goddess, to ensure the success of his
daughter’s approaching Corderan.”

“Tragic. Vegas Sector is lacking in the fruits of Cyllea,”

Saryl said as she read through the comm.

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Jindor pointed at a specifi c line of the comm. “He’d like one

as soon as possible. He’s willing to pay handsomely for such
short notice.”

“Defi ne ‘handsomely,’ ” Jann said.
“A million credits or more.”
Saryl let her breath out in a whistle. “What has the temple

to say about this?”

“Nothing, yet.” Jindor looked hard at Torri, as if willing her to

follow her train of thought. “Representatives of Cyllea often travel
with merchant vessels, to save expenses and appear less elitist.”

It clicked. Torri directed her next statement at Saryl, though

she kept her attention on Jindor. “Re-route Evoran’s message
here. Erase it from the temple banks.” Evoran had solved the
problem for them. It was almost too perfect. “And we’ll
respond within three hours.”

“Respond?” Jann looked up from the tabletop.
Torri tore her gaze from Jindor’s and looked at Saryl, who

was already on her way to the door.

“I’ll alert you when I’m done,” Saryl said as she passed into

the corridor beyond.

Torri stood as well. “Evoran needs a blessing. I have a

feeling our services are needed.” She smiled at Jindor.
“Welcome aboard, Priestess.”

“My thanks, Captain. I’ll need a bodyguard, of course.”
Torri glanced at Jann.
“No,” Jindor said. “The Flori Sector temple prefers females.

Sorry, Jann.”

He shrugged in mock disappointment.
“Saryl, then,” Torri offered. “She’s trained in that.”
Jindor shook her head. “She’s not Radij.”
“Radij?” Jann leaned forward so that he could see around

Torri. “This temple prefers Radij? None of us is Radij.”

Jindor looked meaningfully at Torri. “But one of us could

pass.”

Jann stared at Jindor, then Torri. And then he started

laughing.

Torri stared out the front viewports, and she remembered

how she and Kai would run training missions for Academy
instructors. Kai was one of the best, they’d said. One of the
best pilots they’d ever seen, a rare mixture of natural talent
and superb discipline. A fine addition to any military force,
they’d said. Torri clenched and unclenched her jaw. She knew
the Coalition rarely let Kai use her talents as a pilot. And when
Torri was battling Coalition forces in the Collapse, Kai had
gone on for officers’ training in Vector Quadrant. The
Resistance could’ve used talents like Kai’s. But maybe Kai saw
the future and opted to bide her time, though she had seemed to
waver in her opinion about that during the Newburg visit.

Lost years, Torri thought. Lost years, lost time, lost

comrades. She’d settled into an existence that worked, one that
came naturally in the wake of her “death” during the Collapse,
one that involved networks of both black market and legitimate
clients. She was adept at covering her tracks, expert at
finding the right people for the work she needed done. She was
a merchant, trader, sometime bandit, and thus had never done
well playing by other people’s rules. She recognized rules for
what they were—guideposts, not necessarily mandates—and
learned back doors and loopholes.

A brilliant strategist, her Academy instructors had said of

Torri. Able to assess changing situations and adjust expectations
and outcomes faster than most Cadets. Excellent judgment in

Andi Marquette

high-stress exercises, but does not understand and recognize
the value of authority.

Torri glanced at the control panel to check their coordinates.

What the Academy Council had not understood or recognized
about her was that she was all too aware of authority. She just
refused to accept it. Or, alternatively, she used it to her
advantage and to the advantage of allies. Saryl was right. They
were all still fi ghting the Coalition.

“Captain, if I may interrupt.”
Torri turned at the sound of Jindor’s voice. “You’re not.”

She slipped into the formal shell she assumed when dealing
with Jindor.

“I’m checking navpoints,” Jindor said as she moved to the

control panel that faced the viewports. She sat down in the
navigator’s seat and checked coordinates, as Torri had done.

Jindor was no doubt ensuring that they would follow a

trajectory that indicated they’d come from Flori Sector on
their way to the Ansi holdings. Torri watched Jindor work
and thought—not for the fi rst time—that in different circum-
stances, she’d follow up with the physical relationship they’d
started two months earlier, back in Newburg. Such things were
all too rare in her life, but when Jindor agreed to become the
Far Seek’s new navigator, she—and, by extension, Torri—also
agreed to ship’s rules. No physical relationships between
crew members. In Jindor’s case, Torri almost regretted that
rule. Almost. Finding those she could trust on that level was
diffi cult, given her past and the reach of the Coalition. Even
pleasure domes, which guaranteed anonymity, were often
fronts for Coalition offi cials on the take.

“Do you miss it?” Jindor asked, interrupting Torri’s

thoughts.

“Miss what?”
“Life before the Collapse.” Her fi ngertips glided over the

console, and she didn’t look at Torri, instead remained focused
on her work.

“Some things.”

A Matter of Blood

Jindor nodded but didn’t respond otherwise.
“And you?”
“I miss not being defi ned by the Coalition or the Collapse.”

She fi nished and looked up at Torri. “Now, everything I do
is in relation to the Coalition. Every run we make, no matter
the shipment, it’s within parameters set by the Coalition.” She
turned her head to stare out the viewports. “Wherever we go,
we have to think about who we can and can’t speak freely with.
It tires me.”

“Some wars never end,” Torri said. And this one wouldn’t.

Not for her. Jindor was right. Everything she did since the
Collapse was in relation to Coalition rules. She had to know
those rules in order to break them or skirt them. She, too, stared
out the viewports. Was this freedom?

“No. They don’t.” Jindor addressed Torri now. “If I may

take a liberty, Captain?”

Torri considered Jindor’s request and the many layers it

represented. She sat down in her seat, to the right of Jindor’s.
“You may.”

“I think perhaps you’ve worried about how to interact with

me since I joined your crew.”

Torri regarded her, not surprised at the direct statement.

Jindor was good at reading situations and knowing when
bluntness was called for. “Go on.”

“I understand the expectations about fraternization between

crew members, and even taking into consideration the mo-
ments of our shared past, I’m comfortable interacting with you
on any level. I fear, however, that you aren’t feeling that way
toward me. I’m trying to put you at ease.”

Torri smiled. “Continue.”
Jindor arched an eyebrow and returned the smile. “Relax.”
“Is that an offer or a threat?”
Jindor’s smile widened.
“You’re right. I have been a bit formal with you,” Torri

stated.

“I’m not going to pretend that nothing happened between us

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in Newburg. But it’s past, and I would hope that what might be
turning into an awkward situation between us doesn’t.”

“A valid concern. And one I’m glad you brought up. My

apologies, Jindor. I have been a bit uncertain how to deal with
you.”

“And you don’t trust me fully.”
Torri sat back, caught off guard. Damn Malrusians. Too

intuitive for their own good.

“It’s understandable. I haven’t left much of a record

anywhere.” The control panel beeped a query, and Jindor
turned to respond.

“Is that a decision you made before or after the Collapse?”
“Before. It was a decision that was initially made for me,

and it’s a policy I’ve chosen to follow since.” She entered a few
more coordinates.

Which explained why Saryl couldn’t fi nd much on Jindor,

either under that name or her birth name. She’d fought the
Coalition to the end, coordinating squadrons until rebel forces
could no longer withstand the onslaught. Like historical locust
plagues, the Coalition. It moved inexorably across planets,
bought loyalty or ensured it through brutality and executions.
Through a combination of political and economic
machinations, the Coalition had choked the life out of the
Empire. Then stripped the corpse bare and left its head on a
pole as a warning. They’d stripped trust, as well, and left her
bleeding on the surface of every planet, in the streets of every
settlement. Torri thought about that, and how poisonous
relationships became in an absence of trust. A gambler by
nature, she decided to play a hand.

“My father was a holder. Turkland Province.”
Jindor looked at her. “You’re Earthborn, then.”
“Yes. My family line has been Earthbound for generations.

Before anybody was able to go offworld.”

“Your mother?”
“Earthborn, as well. But I don’t look much like my father,

so I always suspected my mother may have partnered with him

A Matter of Blood

when she was already pregnant with me. She came from the
Wanderer tribes near my father’s holdings.”

“A heterosexual joining?”
Torri knew why she asked. Some of the Wanderer tribes

subscribed to ancient prohibitions that both the Alliance and
the Empire had tried to discourage, but cultural traditions with
deep roots were diffi cult to kill. “I don’t know. I never asked.
The tribes had access to other forms of impregnation, but my
mother never told me whether my father contributed genetic
material to me or not.”

“How did your mother end up a holder’s bondmate?”
“My father needed an alliance with the tribes. His

holdings bordered tribal lands, and were thus subject to raids.
My mother was willing to accept his offer as a representative of
the most powerful of those tribes. I think, too, that she wanted
to get away from what might have been a scandal. She told me
she’d been promised to another man but she didn’t care much
for him. She was in love with someone else, but she never told
me who it was, and the impression she gave me was that she
could not have pursued a bond with this person. Her partnering
with my father was a mutual agreement between them.”

Jindor attended to another beep from the console. “Have

you family now?”

“I don’t know.”
Jindor fi nished and turned to Torri again. “The blood family

I knew are dead, and I don’t know if there are others.” Blunt,
and by her tone, it had cost Jindor to voice it.

“I’m sorry for your loss. Before or after?”
“Before and during.” She’d layered her response with

levels of pain and warning.

Torri heeded the latter and didn’t delve further. “I left my

family holdings at sixteen Earth years. My father did not approve
of the decision. He didn’t speak to me again and only commed
me once. I don’t know what happened to my mother. I’m sure
she found out that I had apparently died in battle. I hope she
went back to her tribe.” She stared out the viewports for a

Andi Marquette

moment, lost in the memory of that last battle, and her
realization that the safest thing she could do was stay dead.

“Siblings?” Jindor asked.
“Not that I know of.”
“Then we have something else in common.”
“And thus another reason to relax, I suppose.” Torri smiled.
Jindor regarded her for a long moment, and her expression

held a combination of warmth and relief. “My gratitude for
talking to me.” She stood. “I’m going to see how Jann’s doing
with the preparation for your transformation to a Radij
bodyguard.”

“My joy knows no bounds.”
“I can tell. But you’re not one to avoid a challenge.”
“So I’ve heard elsewhere. I’m putting myself in your hands

with regard to this matter.”

“I know. Thank you.”
Torri nodded and watched Jindor leave the bridge. Trust

wasn’t so much a matter of revelation as it was belief. For
now, she would believe in Jindor’s motivations behind the plan
they’d concocted. Until Jindor demonstrated otherwise, Torri
owed her that much, though banking on the past was never a
sure investment. She ran her hand over the commlink to page
Saryl. She really needed some sleep.

“One more.” Jann adjusted his grip on the scalpel’s handle,

and Torri automatically closed her eyes again, though she felt
nothing more than a detached pressure on her left cheek as the
instrument’s beam sliced effortlessly through her skin. Pass as
Radij. How had Jindor convinced her of this? How had Jann?
She kept her jaw muscles slack, though instinct begged her to
do otherwise.

The pressure stopped, and Jann set the scalpel aside. He

paused for a few moments, and Torri heard him moving,
probably reaching for another instrument. He then adjusted
his position next to her.

A Matter of Blood

“Closing,” he muttered, concentration evident in his voice.
Cold air blew across Torri’s face and a different kind of

pressure encased her cheek, this one with an almost metallic,
brittle feel. She remained still. Of all the schemes she’d
concocted, this was the fi rst that involved medical procedures.
And thus, was probably one of the more insane.

“Done,” he announced, satisfaction in his voice. “Does it

meet your incredibly high standards?”

Torri opened her eyes and looked up at the vidscreen

positioned at an angle above her chair. Two thin horizontal
reddish lines, each about two inches long, marked her left
cheek just below the bone. Roughly a quarter-inch separated
them from each other. She tilted her head and admired Jann’s
handiwork. “It does. Is there no end to your talents?” she teased
as she leaned forward so she could examine her eyes in the
vidscreen. Darker than normal, almost black, with no boundary
between iris and pupil. She studied them for a moment, tried to
see her original eye color behind the stain. She couldn’t. Good.
Anyone who stared too long at her eyes would most likely not
guess that her appearance was based on an illusion.

He grinned and set the grafter onto the lighted translucent

surface of the nearby tray, then handed her shirt to her.
“Handy, that medic training before the Collapse. Another year,
and I’d be lolling about as some Coalition offi cial’s private
surgeon.” He sighed in an exaggerated fashion. “But no. Here I
am instead, running a disguise clinic in some half-cred bandit’s
cruiser to infi ltrate some third-rate holdings on Earth.”

“Your point being?” Torri asked, as she slid into her shirt

and closed the fasteners, a smile on her lips as she started to
get up. The door to sick bay slid open with a barely discernible
whir, and she settled back into the chair for further inspection.

“We wanted to see our new crew mate, fresh from the Radij

homelands,” Saryl said. She ducked slightly as she stepped
through the doorway then straightened to her full height once
she was within the room. Jindor followed, the top of her head
barely at the level of Saryl’s chest. Both wore standard dark

Andi Marquette

utility trousers and loose shirts, Saryl’s her customary blue
and Jindor’s brown, in keeping with her preference for earth
tones.

Jindor leaned in next to Torri and examined her cheek.

“Very nice.”

“And Jann’s handiwork is good, too,” Saryl added. He

laughed but Jindor ignored the comment.

“Look to your right,” she directed Torri, who complied.
What would Kai think if she saw her with the fresh scars

on her cheek? Torri almost winced, imagining Kai’s
admonishments about this latest scheme. But if all
went according to plan, Kai would never know, and that’s
exactly how Torri wanted it. Once she knew what the Coalition
was doing with Tinsdale Holdings, she’d pass the information
on to her, decide whether to pass it to anyone else, and not
mention how she’d gotten it.

Secrets are weapons, she heard her father say, so many

years ago, when she stood trembling in his offi ce, waiting for
punishment. To her child’s eyes, he was huge, a mountain of
a man, and his displeasure seemed to fl ow from his eyes and
down his skin like magma from a volcano. And like weapons,
he had said with a growl, they require care when handling.
They can harm or protect so you must always err on the side
of the latter. Torri inhaled deeply through her nose, a calming
exercise. What would he think of his daughter now? She
grimaced. A question easy to answer. He wouldn’t.

Jindor appraised Jann’s work from this new angle and made

an appreciative noise, and Torri directed her attention at her.
“Give them a few hours. By then they’ll look like you’ve had
them a while.”

“When do the Radij get their marks?” Saryl asked as she

leaned in to examine Torri’s face.

“By Earth year four, which is early adolescence for them,”

Jindor responded. She moved around the chair to Torri’s right
side. “Let me see your eyes.”

Torri looked up at her, and Jindor moved closer, so close

A Matter of Blood

that Torri could see the different slivers of color that made up
the deep ethereal green of Jindor’s eyes, unusual in most
humans, but common for Malrusians. Both unnerving and
seductive, eyes like Jindor’s.

“Excellent work,” Jindor said. “What did you end up

using?” She looked away from Torri’s face toward Jann then
moved completely away from her so Saryl could have a look.

“A basic pigment override solution that some enterprising

soul altered to work on mammalian organisms and syns, if the
syn has humanoid parts. A little something I picked up in
Vector Quadrant. You can find anything at the Magellan
techport.” He stood and started collecting his instruments, his
large fingers, meaty hands, and blocky warrior’s build a
contrast to the delicate work he could do, whether re-routing
a ship’s neurotech systems or lasering Radij-like scars on
human skin. He handed an eyescope to Jindor. “Have a closer
look. I’m sure our esteemed captain wouldn’t mind a
beautiful woman gazing into her eyes.” He fl ashed a grin at
Torri as Jindor’s body heat turned the scope’s light on.

“Depends on the woman,” Saryl added.
“And the eyes,” Jindor said with a smile as she trained the

scope’s light onto the iris of Torri’s left eye and activated the
holographic capabilities. An image of Torri’s eyeball fl oated
near her head. Jindor looked fi rst through the scope then up at
the holograph. “How long does it last?”

“We’ve got fi ve days. Maybe six,” Jann said. “The solution

can hold off reabsorption until then. Once that starts, it fades
pretty quickly.”

“Defi ne ‘quickly,’ ” Torri said without turning toward Jann,

mentally calculating how long this latest venture would take,
with fl exibility for contingencies. “There is no plan that can’t
be undone,” Master Forr had emphasized in a seminar over a
decade ago. “That is why missions are accomplished. Because
the desired outcome is achieved in spite of a failure in the
original plan’s structure. There are many roads to a journey’s
end. Know them all.”

Andi Marquette

“Depends,” he replied. “Hours for some. Minutes for

others.”

“Thank Cyllea for the exacting nature of medical science,”

Saryl said sardonically as she took the scope from Jindor and
examined Torri’s eyes.

“For our esteemed captain here, I’m betting once it starts

fading, it’ll take one hour and thirty-seven minutes. Give or
take a day.” He stood and stowed his instruments in the
appropriate wall unit.

Torri stayed still as her crew members continued to inspect

his handiwork. Six days, Jann had said. They’d shoot for fi ve,
beginning right now.

“Impressive,” Saryl muttered. “All this from a pigment

override solution.” She handed the eyescope back to Jindor.

“Sometimes the most effective tools are the simplest.” Jindor

gave the eyescope to Jann and moved so Torri could vacate
the chair. She swung her legs over the side and opened and
closed her mouth several times, testing the new scar tissue on
her cheekbone. It pulled a bit, but beyond that, she felt no
discomfort on her face. Hopefully, Jann could take the scars off
as easily as he’d created them.

“And what might a good Radij name be?” Torri looked up

at Jindor.

“I have your credentials prepared. We’ll need to discuss

them before arrival.”

“Wouldn’t want to get your stories crossed, after all,” Saryl

teased. “Jindor’s been grilling me for the past three hours. It’s
your turn now.”

“Delightful, I’m sure.” Torri winked at Saryl. “How long

before we dock?”

“Twelve hours. Our credentials have cleared. We’re offi cial

guests of Ansi Holdings.”

“Well done,” Torri said with a smile. “Remind me to

promote you.”

“I’m quite content as the brains behind every operation. I

would like a new title, though.”

A Matter of Blood

“Granted. Everyone, please look with wonder upon my fi rst

offi cer, Her Most Audaciously Rendered Effervescence.”

Jann snorted, and Jindor fought a grin.
“Pleased,” Jindor said. “I am indeed wondering.”
“As am I,” Jann managed. “Filled with wonderment, no

less.”

“Appropriate.” Saryl drew herself up, feigning haughtiness.

“I will expect such treatment at all times.”

“Absolutely,” Jann shot back. “I wonder about you all the

time.”

“You should. I know where you sleep.”
“Feel free to join me any time.” He leered at her, and Saryl

made an obscene gesture with her fingers, though she
snickered along with him.

Torri watched the exchange, smiling. Not for the fi rst time,

she thanked whatever forces had led her to choose her crew.
She cleared her throat, and Saryl immediately stopped her
clowning with Jann.

“According to the main Temple’s offi cial registries in

Oiros—to which I have recently contributed an entry—” Saryl
raised her eyebrows in emphasis, smiling.

Saryl’s abilities to infi ltrate any security system they faced

always amazed Torri. They had yet to meet one Saryl couldn’t
hack. She nodded approvingly and motioned for Saryl to
continue.

“We’re on an informal good will tour of Vegas Sector, one

that has traditionally been overlooked by the goddess’s faithful
servants, due to its relative lack of cosmopolitan amenities.”
Saryl shook her head sadly. “As part of this tour, the temple
is more than happy to bestow a blessing on Regent Evoran’s
daughter, to ensure a proper bondmate presents him- or herself
at an upcoming Corderan. So pleased was the Temple
Recorder about this event—even the most remote of holdings
should have access to the holy graciousness that is the nearest
province temple—that she immediately contacted Othne, one
of the senior priestesses.” Here, Saryl bowed toward Jindor.

Andi Marquette

“The Temple Recorder promptly implored Othne to arrange
such a tour and implement it.”

“I’m sure the generous payment Evoran Ansi offered had

nothing to do with it,” Jann said.

“Only partially. The servants of the goddess are not so crass

as to allow something like a million credits to buy a blessing.”
Saryl pretended offense.

“Oh, of course not. The money will go to feed children

whose parents were killed in offworld accidents.” He grinned
at her.

“Among other things. Worship requires fi nancial upkeep,

after all.”

Saryl had outdone herself. Temple registries were largely

free from Coalition meddling. Torri again looked at the image
of her cheek on the vidscreen. “Then I’m sure Regent Evoran is
looking forward to a visit from a high priestess of Cyllea,” she
said. “He’ll get his blessing, and sooner than he had hoped.”

“Plus, it enhances his stature with the other holdings in

Amer Province,” Saryl noted.

And gives him more leverage with Kai’s family. Torri didn’t

voice the thought, but she knew that Saryl understood the
undertone in her previous comment. She pursed her lips,
thinking. “Has the good regent arranged for a meeting with
Holder Tinsdale?” She’d gambled on that, fi guring that a
visit from a high priestess would ensure some kind of formal
meeting with surrounding holdings. Coalition lackeys
were notorious for elaborate ceremonies and banquets, hoping
to curry favor with higher offi cials. If Evoran was typical
Coalition—and Torri had no doubt he was—he would want
his neighbors to know that a priestess of Cyllea graced his
presence. And he would want them to see her, as a guest of his
holdings.

“Not yet. But he may yet be waiting for our arrival before

he makes an announcement. After all, if word gets out before
that, others might attempt to entice the high priestess to visit
their holdings, as well.”

A Matter of Blood

“Appearances,” Jindor concurred, “are everything.”
“But vanity is predictable,” Torri said. “Never underestimate

the advantage the hubris of another can provide. And never
forget that a potential foe considers that of you, as well.”
Master Forr again, imparting words Torri had retained all these
years.

“Priestess Othne was able to fi nd a merchant vessel willing

to take her to Vegas Sector on such short notice.” Saryl placed
a hand on her chest, as if humbled. “We, the crew of the Star
Chaser—formerly the Far Seek—are ever grateful for this
opportunity to serve a representative of one of Cyllea’s temples.”

“And as a result, I’m sure we will not be damned to the

farthest reaches of Cyllea’s coldest galaxy.” Jann, too, placed
his hand on his chest. “I only hope that the goddess has a sense
of humor.”

“She does,” Jindor said. “It’s her servants who don’t.”
“Othne speaks words of wisdom,” Torri said appreciatively.

“I am thus honored to serve her.” She, too, placed her hand
on her chest and looked at Jindor expectantly. “Lead on, most
excellent navigator.”

Jindor swept her left arm toward the door in an exaggerated

motion and half-bowed, drawing a laugh from Jann.

“Praise whatever deity you worship that you joined this

motley bunch,” he said.

Torri stopped at the doorway and turned to glare at him.

“Praise your deity that I offered her the position.”

“Among other positions you offered,” Saryl said innocently

as Jann bit his lip, visibly struggling not to laugh again.

Torri slowly shook her head. “None have yet refused any

of my positions,” she retorted, amused, and Jann burst out
laughing again.

Saryl lifted a shoulder in a shrug, lips twitching. “And on

that, I’ll return to my, uh, own position, Captain.” She brushed
past Torri into the corridor beyond, dipping her head beneath
the doorjamb in a long-practiced motion. Torri preceded Jindor
into the corridor, Jann’s laughter following them.

Andi Marquette

“I’d like to change shirts,” Torri said once out in the

corridor.

“A good idea.” Jindor followed Torri to the captain’s quarters

and leaned against the wall outside the door. “I’ll wait.”

Torri nodded and pressed her thumb to the keypad. The

door opened with a low swoosh, and she entered, ensuring it
closed behind her before she removed her shirt and tossed it
onto her bunk. She selected another—this one black—from
the fi ve she kept in her small clothing storage wall unit and
put it on, though she didn’t tuck it into her trousers. Instead,
she made use of her toilet facilities and, once done with that,
she carefully washed her face and studied the new scars in the
small mirror above the sink. Her eyes were most disconcerting.
Just a big, black pupil, giving her an ethereal appearance, as if
she wasn’t entirely alive. This peculiarity of Radij physiology
struck her as almost synthetic, and she wasn’t entirely
comfortable seeing it in her own countenance.

She ran her fi ngertips lightly over the scars, and her cheek

tingled. Radij. What had ever possessed her to think a plan
like this would work? Posing as a priestess’s guardian in order
to find out why the Coalition was so interested in Kai’s
family’s holdings? She smiled self-deprecatingly at her image
in the mirror. What was this hold on her that Kai retained?
Their shared Academy days were long over. Their disparate
political ideologies a gulf barely bridged with chance meetings
and illicit rendezvous. Torri stared at her eyes, trying to
acclimate herself to their appearance. Why could she not cut
Kai out of her life? Because I don’t want to. I’ve never wanted
to. And that, she knew, was a serious weakness.

She pressed a button above the sink, and water trickled out

of the sleek spigot. She let it flow over her fingers until it
automatically stopped. And what if she managed to fi nd out
why the Coalition wanted the Tinsdale holdings? What then?
What could she do? The money garnered from their last
venture in Newburg was substantial, and she did have a pure-
color black opal, thanks to Jann’s handiwork. But that probably

A Matter of Blood

wasn’t enough to buy the Coalition out, which was, at the very
least, carving a military base out of Kai’s family holdings.

Or was that really what they were doing? Something about

this didn’t strike Torri as a typical Coalition fuck-over. Maybe
that was ultimately why she was so interested. Once a rebel,
always a rebel, after all.

She thought then of Kai, and of the all-too-brief time they’d

shared in Newburg. Torri couldn’t go another two years
without seeing her. Why wouldn’t she just leave her military
command? She was wavering in her support of Coalition
directives. She had nearly said as much two months ago. Torri
sighed and splashed more water on her face. Kai’s sense of
duty to her family overrode everything, and if she had to
continue serving in Coalition military forces to ensure their
well-being, she would do so.

“Damn you,” Torri muttered as she pressed the drying

button, and warm air coursed gently across her face. Just as
stubborn now as then. She fi nished drying off and took a few
moments to focus before joining Jindor. And Torri was just as
stubborn as Kai. If that weren’t the case, she certainly wouldn’t
bother with Coalition affairs on Old Earth. She pressed her
thumb to the keypad to open the door.

“Where would you have me?” Torri looked back over her

shoulder and regretted the words the instant she said them, but
Jindor only smiled back at her.

“The mess. I’ve already programmed the vidscreen and the

table there has room to work.”

Torri nodded and motioned for Jindor to pass her, and her gaze

slid appreciatively down Jindor’s back then down her thighs.

“It’s mutual,” Jindor said, without turning to look at her.
Torri rolled her eyes, exasperated and embarrassed. Damn

Malrusians.

Jindor laughed softly, still walking, not looking at her.

“Humans are capable of the same intuitive capacities that we
have. Most of you, however, have chosen to ignore them.”
She paused at the mess entrance and turned to address Torri
directly. “Do you wish to further discuss what happened in
Newburg?” Just a question. Nothing judgmental in it that Torri
could discern.

“No.”
Jindor inclined her head in acknowledgement.
Torri read nothing in her eyes, except maybe a detached

interest. But then, she really didn’t know much about Jindor
beyond what Jindor chose to share. Saryl’s investigation into
Jindor’s past confi rmed the parts of her story she had shared
with Torri, but they were just glimpses of Jindor’s personal
history. Pieces, jagged and fragmented, and Torri had yet to fi t

A Matter of Blood

them all together into a whole. To be fair, she thought, as she
studied Jindor’s eyes, Jindor had a similar perception of Torri,
as well, psychic capabilities notwithstanding.

“Not yet,” Torri amended.
Jindor nodded once in acceptance and entered the mess hall.
Torri hesitated before following, thinking of the two nights

she’d shared with Jindor, and how she’d enjoyed the physical
release. But each time, she’d wanted someone else to wake up
with her, each time she’d craved the emotional connection to
Kai that she still felt, still held close. Still allowed to govern
some of her actions.

“I’m not offended.” Jindor sat down on the bench facing

the mess entrance and moved her fi ngers languidly over the
tabletop, triggering the vidscreen in the wall.

“You have no reason to be.” Torri joined Jindor at the table

and took a seat across from her, back to the entrance.

“You feel guilty for thinking about someone else while

engaged in sexual activity with me,” she said matter-of-factly
as she manipulated the images on the screen via the table’s
sensors.

“Which doesn’t detract from the fact that I thoroughly

enjoyed the sexual activity with you.” No sense avoiding the
discussion. Clearly, she wanted to have it or she wouldn’t be
thinking about it. Jindor had helped clear a path earlier for it,
anyway.

“I know. As did I.” Jindor made one more adjustment, and

an image of a landmass crystallized on the screen. “But
perhaps that’s a discussion for another time.”

“Perhaps.” Torri turned her attention to the image, and

she knew that Jindor read the noncommittal undercurrent and
would not be offended by it.

“Tamdahla,” Jindor said, gesturing at the screen, and the

word sounded musical, the sharp guttural sound of the second
syllable softened by her accent. “Not the least-known of the
Radij homelands, but one that isn’t as recognizable as, say,
Sahmer.”

Andi Marquette

“Famous for its mercenaries.” Torri pursed her lips. Those

that can leave, anyway. “At last check, a Varsian dynasty had
established a foothold along the perimeter of the traditional
homelands. Does that still hold?”

“Impressive. You’ve done your research.” Jindor smiled,

and for a moment she reminded Torri of statues she had seen
while training at the Academy, carved from marble long before
the Empire had collapsed beneath the Coalition’s onslaught.
Long before the Empire had ever existed, and long before she
had chosen the life she now led, Vector-hopping on legitimate
and illegitimate missions.

“That and the imprinting you recommended,” Torri said,

focusing on the screen.

“Good. Which dialect do you now speak?”
“Southern Edge, as you suggested.” Torri pursed her lips

and looked at the screen. The language Radij warriors most
often spoke.

Jindor made a soft noise in the affi rmative and smiled. “I

think it a wise choice, given the role you’ll be playing. And
you’re correct. A Varsian dynasty still controls over half of
Tamdahla. A truce currently exists between the Radij there and
the Varsian rulers, but I doubt it’ll hold.” She looked at Torri.
“They never do. Hence the development of a stronger Radij
warrior caste in that province.”

“A state of constant war can enact irrevocable social and

cultural changes that in turn feed on confl ict.” Another lesson
from Torri’s Academy past fl oated in her memory. “Societies
born of battle have the most to lose in a confrontation and will
fi ght the longest, because the toll it takes serves only as fuel,
and not as deterrent.” The lesson, Torri remembered, was to
choose your battles carefully. Even a victory in such
circumstances exacted a high price.

She turned her head to look at Jindor and wondered again

how it was that she knew so much about the Radij world. She
didn’t look Radij. Certainly wasn’t born there, since here she
was, far from the homelands. Perhaps she’d had a Radij lover,

A Matter of Blood

then? For some reason, Torri guessed that Jindor’s knowledge
of the Radij was a part of the puzzle of her past.

“The Radij are an ancient culture, originally organized as

matrilocal and matrilineal tribes,” Jindor said, interrupting
Torri’s thoughts. “If you consider the history of Earth and human
cultural evolution, this is an unusual adaptation for tribal societies,
which most often were androcentric on your home planet.”

“The Radij may not be the same species,” Torri pointed out.

“So perhaps it’s not necessarily a good comparison.”

“True, but genetically, it is possible for a Radij and a human

to have biological offspring. And biology doesn’t necessarily
determine culture.”

Torri looked at Jindor, trying to deduce the meaning

beneath her statement. Interesting choice of words. If
anything, Radij culture seemed to determine biology. Torri
said nothing in response, waiting to see where Jindor would
take the discussion.

“Radij women give birth like humans,” Jindor continued,

“though the gestation period is shorter, and children are able to
care for themselves faster than human infants.”

“How much faster?” Torri offered the question, testing how

much more Jindor knew about the Radij as part of her own
fact-fi nding mission. Saryl had combed every database she
could for every scrap of information about the planet
the Empire had dubbed Sentinel, a description of its orbit in
relation to the other planets in its galaxy. Remote yet precise. A
metaphor that Torri could apply to the woman who haunted her
thoughts more these days, the closer they got to Amer Province.
Remote, precise Kai. But underneath that, so much more.

Jindor was silent for a moment, calculating. “A Radij child

is an adolescent by Earth year four, reaching full height and
biological maturity by Earth year six.”

“Might that change if a Radij child was half-human?”
Jindor pursed her lips. “I assume it would. A child like that

would physiologically mature slower than his or her full Radij
counterparts.”

Andi Marquette

And that could prove a diffi cult hurdle for both the child and

the family. Torri frowned. “What story do you have for my past
in this venture?”

Jindor responded while she still looked at the vidscreen.

“Your father was Radij but your mother was half-Malrusian
and half-human. So presumably, you matured slower than full
Radij children.” Jindor offered a teasing smile and tapped the
tabletop and another image appeared. “Tamdahla borders
Tallisto to the west, a province with a few Malrusian outposts.
Not unusual for interactions.” The word carried several
connotations in Empire, from informal to trade to sexual.

Torri nodded, comprehension dawning. She’d found a

reference in the geopolitical databases Saryl had hacked that
discussed the arrival of Malrusian traders, who had established
a few settlements in the Radij homelands fi ve decades ago, when
the Empire allowed those sorts of ventures. Long before the
Coalition toppled the Empire and sank its claws into its carcass.

Now, any settlement had to be approved by the Coalition

High Council, and the Council generally denied the request
then did it anyway, using its own companies to further
Coalition interests, regardless of the outcome for the region’s
residents. She turned her gaze to Jindor. “The Radij parasite
cannot live in a child with Malrusian genetic material.” She
paused then continued, choosing her words. “It can, however,
kill a human.” Something in the way Jindor studied the screen,
and the way she held her body, told Torri that the piece she
suspected Jindor harbored with regard to the Radij was close
to the surface.

“True.” Jindor kept her gaze on the screen, and in her body

language, Torri recognized a withdrawal.

“For my own information,” Torri said, “if the child had

both human and Malrusian genetic composition, the chances
of surviving the parasite go up, because of Malrusian immuno-
response. Am I correct?” She hung the question in the sudden
vacuum between them and the ensuing silence added another
piece of Jindor’s past to Torri’s collection.

A Matter of Blood

“You are,” Jindor fi nally said, distant. “The Radij parasite

cannot live in children with Malrusian genetic heritage.” She
turned her head back toward the screen, her tone both refl ective
and wary in a way that alerted Torri to another possibility with
regard to her new navigator. She thought then of Jindor’s use
of the word “interactions,” and she applied that infl ection to
her next statement.

“It’s not forbidden for a Radij to take a partner from among

non-Radij,” she said quietly. “I found nothing in the databanks
to contradict that.”

“No,” Jindor concurred, perhaps a trace of melancholy in

her voice. “It’s not. But it is frowned upon, and any children of
such a relationship usually end up with the non-Radij parent.”
The distance in her voice spoke of sadness and secrets.

Torri waited a few moments before asking her next question,

which offered a gamble. “Which of your parents was that?”

The muscles in Jindor’s jaw clenched then released. She

turned to regard Torri, gaze crystalline and dangerous, perhaps
assessing the level of risk between them. Then she, too,
gambled. “My mother,” she admitted. “She was Malrusian.
And no, she did not meet my father in the homelands. My
parents met on Earth.”

Torri frowned. “So your father—”
“Wasn’t fully Radij,” Jindor fi nished. She continued to look

at Torri, still assessing. “He was born in the homelands, but his
tribe left him at one of the Malrusian settlements in Tallisto.
The parasite didn’t take. Eventually, he ended up on Earth.”

Torri sat back to create a buffer zone for Jindor in the

increased physical space between them. “So he was Malrusian
as well?” How was it that a man who wasn’t pure Radij was
born in the homelands? She kept that question to herself.

Jindor sighed, a sound laden with frustration. “I don’t know.

It would seem logical, wouldn’t it? After all, the parasite didn’t
take. It died within hours in his blood. My mother told me that
his family introduced it to him three times. And I don’t look
Radij or human.” She tapped the tabletop, and another image

Andi Marquette

appeared on the screen, this one of the border between Tamdahla
and Tallisto. “He was brought here,” she said, pointing at the
southernmost settlement. “He was an adolescent by Radij
standards and he didn’t speak Malrusian. So if he was part
Malrusian, it wasn’t known among the Radij he was with.”

Or perhaps it was, Torri thought. But the secret was kept for

whatever reasons. “A mutation, then?” she offered aloud.

Jindor shrugged. “The Radij have a limited understanding

of genetics. They have remained largely a tribal people,
especially in the provinces that are constantly at war. Those
whose parents are not pure Radij do not receive the parasite,
and thus do not receive the enhanced physical abilities that the
parasite gives them.”

“Which are?”
Jindor grimaced. “It’s not proven, since the Radij are so

insular and refuse outside analysis, but once the parasite is
established in the body, there are claims of better eyesight and
hearing, and increased physical stamina and endurance, which
would be quite a benefi t in the homelands environment.”

Given the ecological pitfalls of most of Sentinel, improved

senses would defi nitely prove benefi cial. But then again, the
Radij might have come to believe that such things occurred
after the ritual, though physically, it might not have been
true. “If a parent of a Radij child is not pure Radij—even one
parent—that child would not receive the parasite?” Torri asked
as she studied the screen. The databases offered various
responses to that question, but no consensus.

“It varies throughout the homelands. In my father’s region,

if a Radij cannot trace a personal heritage fi fteen generations,
then the tribal elders ultimately decide whether or not the child
will receive the parasite. After all,” she tapped the table, and
another image appeared of a burned-out village, “a Radij can
be brought into a tribe through warfare and kidnapping. In such
a way, children are assimilated into the new group.”

Which explains why some might not be fully cognizant of

their true heritage. Torri tugged on her lip, thinking. “Saryl

A Matter of Blood

found no references to genetic mutations that would prevent a
full Radij from accepting the parasite. Nor could she fi nd many
references to the ritual itself.”

“It’s not something they choose to discuss with outsiders.”

Jindor tapped the tabletop again, and an image of a Radij man
appeared, the two scars on his left cheekbone blackened with
what looked like charcoal. “The Radij call the ritual in which
the parasite is introduced s’la miroj n’ tilojha,” she said, the
syllables languid on her tongue, like thick honey. “The dance
in the blood. If the parasite does not take on the fi rst try, the
elders will convene a council with the family members to
determine whether the ritual was performed correctly. In most
of these instances, it was not.” She tapped again, and another
image appeared, this one of a black worm that Torri knew was
barely a quarter-inch in length. Its tail tapered to a point.
Another image, another worm, its underside visible through
magnifi cation. Hundreds of grayish cilia, like a vast seaweed
forest, stretched the length of its body.

“This is an adult. The Radij call it salazh, which translates

to something along the lines of ‘full-grown life form.’ This,”
she brought another image up, and a worm the color of ash
fi lled the screen, “is a salevi. A juvenile. This is the form that
is introduced to the bloodstream. Once it’s exposed to the
nutrients carried in the blood, it will mature in three Earth
days. Unless the blood is human, in which case the host will
die within six hours. Often less.”

Torri stared at the image. The juvenile worm reminded her

of maggots she’d seen on Earth, infesting the dead bodies of
livestock on her father’s holdings and later, on corpses of rebels
the Coalition had left out as deterrents to further uprisings.
“How is it introduced? That, too, seems to be something the
Radij don’t share with outsiders.”

“It’s not.” The trace of a smile tugged at the corners of

Jindor’s mouth. “Cultural prerogative, for the most part. But
also as a form of blackmail, these days.”

Torri raised an eyebrow in a silent query.

Andi Marquette

Jindor motioned at the screen. “Think about it. If non-Radij

were somehow able to cultivate the parasite and introduce it
to other non-Radij who could not survive . . .” She raised a
shoulder in a shrug.

“A biological weapon.” Torri fi nished the statement, the

consequences of something like that sitting like a piece of
broken glass in her brain. If the Coalition fi gured out a way to
harvest the Sentinel parasite and create a weapon with it . . . the
possibilities were beyond frightening. But if the Radij knew
this, they could conceivably use their traditions as a weapon
against incursion. “What stops non-Radij from doing it anyway?”

Jindor called another image up, a huge expanse of desert

the color of dried blood. “Only certain Radij are allowed
knowledge of the parasite and how to find it, which is
indigenous to this area of the homelands. Its physiological
evolution is so tied to this particular environment that it cannot
survive longer than one Earth day outside it.” She looked
at Torri, expectant, the way a teacher might look at an astute
pupil.

“Unless it’s in a host.” Torri sat back. “Of course.”

Biological smuggling, in a way. “But why, then, can’t the
Radij leave once it’s been introduced?”

“That remains a mystery.” With two fi ngertips, Jindor created

a holograph, and the desert fl oated above the table, turning
slowly, bisected by grid lines representing longitude and
latitude. “From what various scientifi c studies have yielded
with the extremely limited information available, the current
theory is that the parasite secretes some kind of hormone that,
in combination with Radij biological makeup, somehow mimics
the former environment for the parasite.”

“Within the host,” Torri stated fl atly.
“And creates a similar problem for the host. He or she

can only go so far beyond the homelands and for a limited
time.”

“The host takes on the parasite’s evolutionary imperative?”

Torri crossed her arms and leaned back, skeptical.

A Matter of Blood

“I know. It sounds irrational. But somehow, something like

that is happening on Sentinel.”

And apparently has been for generations. Torri looked

away from the holograph back at Jindor, who absently grasped
her right shoulder with her left hand, thus protecting her chest
and the lump of scar tissue beneath her clothing where her left
breast had been. Torri hadn’t asked Jindor about the wound
during their liaisons, and Jindor hadn’t offered an explanation,
but in her body language during this discussion, Torri guessed
the injury had something to do with her family.

“I am sorry for your loss,” Torri offered again.
“Many have suffered,” Jindor responded quietly, almost

dismissively.

Torri nodded and turned back to the vidscreen, recognizing

the end of this particular conversation. “What am I to be called,
then?”

“Shar n’Morif.” Jindor held up a commdisk between her

index fi nger and thumb. “This is the portfolio that Saryl and I
developed for you, including information on your current post
as a guardian for the priestess Othne, who only expects the fi nest
security. Warriors with Radij heritage are in great demand for
that role.” She quirked an eyebrow, and a smile played at the
corners of her mouth. “The Flori Sector temple tries to hire
only Radij women. They’re known for that.”

Torri took the disk, its hard surface the only connection

she had to an entirely new past. Trust. Was that something she
could direct at Jindor? She was still an unknown, what she’d
revealed here notwithstanding. But her expertise in not only
Radij culture but also the inner workings of a temple of Cyllea
proved key for this particular plan. What better way to infi ltrate
the holdings of a Coalition pawn than through a revered
representative of a goddess? Even the Coalition power
structure recognized the value of a religious hierarchy and the
social and political stability and validation it could offer.

Whether one believes or not. Torri glanced back at the

vidscreen, and the image of the desert that defi ned much of

Andi Marquette

this part of the Radij homelands. Beneath its sands dwelled
the parasite the Radij considered sacred, allegedly comporting
some sort of powers to each in whose blood they swam. And
on an entirely different planet, but beneath a similar swath of
soil, another kind of wealth must reside. Else why would the
Coalition be so interested in the holdings of some minor local
offi cial engaged in trade, who managed a fair annual harvest
of edible fruits, vegetables, and teas? Nothing that brought in
too much more than what the labor had cost to garner those
harvests.

No, Kai’s family had nothing to offer the Coalition. Nothing

visible. Torri frowned, thinking. Something lurked beneath the
surface here. Something that she wasn’t seeing. The Coalition
wanted the Tinsdale holdings, and it was spending a lot more
time and energy than it normally would in attempting to wrest
a sale from Kai’s family. Why didn’t they just take them, like
they did so many other things? Torri swung her left leg over the
bench so that she could stand.

“My thanks to you, Jindor. Your help has been invaluable.”

She held the commdisk up and smiled.

“You’re welcome.” She brushed her fi ngertips over the

tabletop, and the vidscreen’s image faded as the program shut
down. The infl ection she put in the phrase told Torri that Jindor
understood Torri’s hesitancy about her and whatever choice
Torri made with regard to trust she would respect.

“We dock in eleven hours. I recommend you get what sleep

you can.” Torri turned and left through the open doorway. She
had more work to do.

“Commander, your presence is requested on the bridge.”
Kai turned from the viewscape to acknowledge the

intrusion, though her new title still jarred. She’d gotten it
two months ago, and six months early, for “fi ne service in
Newburg.” Kai recognized Lieutenant Yun as her interruption,
originally from Paltor Quadrant, one of the more distant from
Earth. He wore his uniform like his recent promotion on his
lanky frame. Stiff and uncertain, as if playing dress-up in an
older sibling’s clothing. He looked past her, standing at
attention with the fervor of the insecure.

“At ease, Lieutenant.” She released him from his stance,

and his shoulders relaxed. Very green. Had he been in her
squadron, he would still be a private. His family must have
curried favor with a Coalition offi cial. The thought irritated her
but there was little she could do except ensure that the soldiers
under her command were ranked by tested ability and operated
cohesively. Kai tolerated nothing less, and this reputation
ensured that only she recommended promotions for members
of her squadron. The Coalition had yet to meddle in her affairs
because of her personal record and achievements. A small favor,
but one for which she was grateful. “Under whose orders?”

“Admiral Dirr’s.” He continued to stare past her, retaining

his formality, though a bead of sweat tracked slowly down his
forehead toward his brow ridge. Kai sighed under her breath.
He wasn’t a fi ghting soldier. He was, instead, a decoration that

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commemorated something his family did and that the Coalition
appreciated.

“Thank you. Dismissed.”
Yun nodded once, a tight, awkward motion, turned on his

heel, and walked down the stairs from the viewing platform.
His boot heels squeaked on the ship’s fl oors, broadcasting how
new his footwear was.

Kai grimaced. Dirr could wait. She turned back to the glass

that stretched from fl oor to ceiling, hands clasped behind her.
The infi nite reaches of space beyond the cruiser’s walls always
eased her mind. Out there, things were ordered and operated in
logical ways, with defi nitive causes and effects for everything
that occurred. There was no right or wrong, no evil or good.
Out there, you lived or died not because such a thing was plotted
and executed, but rather because of a failure on your part to
adequately prepare. And that was something she understood,
something that sat well in her thoughts.

She took another minute to stare out the window. Earth

loomed large in the viewscape on this platform, and she longed
to breathe fresh air again, longed for a leave of absence when
she didn’t have to think about the rigors of her choices or the
strange path they’d led her down. She longed, too, for a certain
woman’s company but knew it was too much to hope for, knew
that each time they met only increased the danger of discovery.
Still, she carried a specifi c commdisk in her right boot, affi xed
with a compound that protected it from moisture and detection.
Should she decide to activate it, everything in her life would
irrevocably change, and she was not at all certain she was
prepared for those consequences. But nevertheless, she kept it
close to her, as a way to dream, perhaps. Or rebel.

Kai descended from the platform, hoping that Torri had

completed the contract she’d taken at Newburg. She smiled
as she turned right and walked down the corridor that would
take her to a lift to the upper levels. Here she was,
a Coalition military offi cer who secretly hoped that a former
rebel-turned-bandit had slagged Kai’s employer. How one’s

A Matter of Blood

views can change, given the right circumstances. She moved
aside so that a group of civilian shiptechs could pass.

Kai walked on, thinking about the time she’d spent with

Torri on Newburg two months ago. She’d been culpable, after
all, in Torri’s opal heist. And she’d waited for a sense of guilt
or remorse to haunt her in the days since, but it never came.
Instead, she was gratified, and strangely relieved but
invigorated, as if she’d been struggling with someone else’s
secrets, the kind that left her somehow unclean, but releasing
them left her more buoyant than she’d felt in months.

She waited for the lift and entered when it arrived. It was

empty, for which she was glad. She was in no mood for
pleasantries, which she rarely felt these days, anyway. The
superfi cial veneer of the Coalition irked her more and more,
and rather than pretend that she enjoyed mundane prattle with
various buffoons and sycophants, she instead kept more and
more to herself, becoming even more of a loner than she’d
been during her Academy days, when she studied incessantly,
afraid that her fellow Cadets would somehow see that she, an
unknown holder’s daughter from an unproductive region of
Earth, had no business at the Academy. But somehow, she’d
passed all their entrance exams and screenings, and done so
in a way that funneled her into the more diffi cult track, at which
she excelled. Somehow, she’d proven that belong she did, but
there were times she wondered what she was trying to prove,
and to whom.

Studying is good, but practical application is better,

Torri had said to her after their fi rst year as bunkmates. And
thus began the fi rst of the “explorations,” as Torri called
them, of nearby settlements. Some of their escapades were
benign and involved nothing more than a drink in a local bar
after exams. Others, however, had taxed even Kai’s calm
and clear thinking. How many times had she covered for
Torri after a particularly long night of fun or trouble, the two
not necessarily mutually exclusive? How many times had
she talked them out of a scrape, after Torri’s temper riled

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locals? She smiled again. Too many. But she’d do it again,
and love the chance.

Damn you, Torri. May you be quadrants away. That thought

proved far better than the one that Torri might be near, some-
thing that brought hope, and Kai could not afford to indulge
in it. Better that Torri were light years away, engaged in her
trader activities—as Kai euphemistically labeled her black
market work—than nearby. If the Coalition knew of their
occasional meetings, it wouldn’t be only Kai who would
suffer. No, hope was a chance she could not take again. Still,
she knew that given that chance, she would. She gritted her
teeth at her weakness and glared at the location readout on the
wall panel to her left.

The lift opened at upper level two, and she exited to turn

right down this corridor, in which military personnel and
security-cleared mechanics and engineers dominated. Upon
seeing her, the former all snapped to attention, and saluted
as she passed. She ignored them, as was her prerogative, and
strode the few hundred yards to the bridge entryway.

Here she paused, waiting for the full body scan. The force

shield dissolved, and she crossed the threshold, glancing
around the bridge for Dirr. Navigators and military techcrews
manned vidscreens and holomaps, but as Kai passed them,
she discerned that no defi nitive course had been marked. Odd.
They’d been orbiting for nearly a month after her assignment
ended in Newburg. She’d been on standby since, waiting for
her next orders, hoping that her recent promotion would grant
her better options. Perhaps Dirr was going to issue her next
orders, a thought that made her uneasy because it wasn’t
protocol, and his dislike for her was palpable, whenever they’d
had contact. In the past, she’d always been notified via
standard military comm then standard military briefi ng with
regard to assignments.

She spotted Dirr sitting at the primary control panel, the

prow viewscape open, the blackness of space beyond, stretching
like an ocean, though out here, no horizon existed to offer the

A Matter of Blood

illusion of a journey with an end. She approached, attracting
more salutes. These, too, she ignored.

Dirr was observing something on a vidscreen, expression

placid. From his thin, almost pinched features, Kai suspected
Talesian ancestry, though she’d never cared enough to ask.

“Sir,” she said, right fi st over her heart in a salute. “You

wished to see me.” She didn’t voice it as a question and in
Coalition, the statement automatically carried an added air of
respect in the title of address that the language required for
offi cials like Dirr but that Kai felt for few, if any of her superior
offi cers. Dirr was not in the group she respected.

He looked up at her as if she were an annoyance.

“Commander Tinsdale,” he acknowledged after a few seconds
in his reedy monotone. “Thank you for your time.”

Kai recognized the insult but offered nothing for him to

continue in that vein. He had no doubt scanned the ship after
he requested an audience and noted that she had chosen not to
respond right away. Regardless, Dirr had little respect from any
true soldiers. His commission was pure Coalition bootlicking,
and on some level, he knew that, and it rankled him.

He didn’t bother to stand nor did he request that she sit,

implying that her presence was a bother, and he didn’t have
time to treat her as a military colleague. Kai clasped her hands
behind her back and waited, unfazed. He’d never gotten a rise
out of her, and that wasn’t going to change now.

He tried again, looking back at the screen for another

minute or two. Kai settled into herself to wait him out. She
knew she would because she always did and that he would
probably hate her more for it, though she didn’t care. Military
offi cials like Dirr weren’t worth the shit that littered outpost
alleys, but she wouldn’t take his baiting because she’d earned
her commission, and her Academy record as well as her service
since provided a reputation that nothing he did would ever
imitate or breach. And besides, I look much better in my
uniform. She fought a juvenile smirk.

“It is my understanding that you are originally from Vegas

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Sector, located in Amer Province on Earth,” he fi nally said as
he swiveled in his seat to look at her again, though his eyes
didn’t meet hers.

“Yes, sir.” She wished he’d get to his point. Her past was

well-documented in her personnel fi les.

“Then I’m certain you are aware of the High Council’s

agreement with Holder Tinsdale with regard to a lease.” He
drew the word out, and if Coalition had the same linguistic
flexibility that Empire did, Kai was certain he would be
implying that the lease was only as good as the Coalition
wanted it to be. “You’ll of course recognize the name of your
father. And I’m also certain that you are aware that the High
Council is engaged in a development project on those holdings
that will vastly benefi t military directives.” He waited for a
proper response, as if she were a schoolchild.

“Yes, sir. I am.”
“The project is currently in the earliest stages, and though

your family has been most helpful—” He deigned to look her
in the eye briefl y, making sure she recognized his sarcasm. She
didn’t react, and he returned to staring at his vidscreen. “In
spite of your family’s help, the project requires someone
with military experience who has intimate knowledge
of Vegas Sector.” He looked at her briefl y again. “You are to
travel immediately to your family’s holdings and assist with
project development. You’ll be reporting to Major Sorreth, of
the Twelfth Squadron based out of Yuka Sector.”

Kai’s stomach churned but she gave no outward sign of it.

“Yes, sir.”

He honored his vidscreen with his attention again.

“Councilmember Wareni will brief you at oh-nineteen-
hundred hours in her offi ce. That is all.” He dismissed her with
an airy wave of his left hand, and Kai saluted again, though
doing so nauseated her. She turned and left, and this time she
acknowledged the salutes from lower-ranking soldiers with
curt nods, more than they probably got from Dirr. She checked
the chronometer that hovered over a nearby holomap. Barely

A Matter of Blood

thirty minutes to meet Wareni, whose offi ce was back near the
viewing platform Kai had recently quitted. Dirr could have
commed her the information, but his pettiness ensured that he
made extra work for personnel he disliked. Kai was pleased
she’d made that list, though it created inconveniences for her.

She started back toward midship, mulling what he’d said.

The Coalition had been trying to buy half her family’s holdings
for a few months but her father, almost as stubborn as she was,
had refused to sell and instead grudgingly offered a lease
agreement. He had called on the infl uence of a neighboring
holder, who had some pull. Apparently, it was working. The
last comm she’d received from her sister indicated that the
Coalition had agreed to the deal, though at a lower price, and
requested use of the northwestern quadrant of the holdings as
they conducted some kind of experiments in the unclaimed
territory. Her family left that quadrant alone because it was
primarily desert and too far from the main irrigation grids. Plus,
it was much too expensive to grid it individually, and Kai’s
family couldn’t afford to hire the settlers needed to supervise
its reclamation, and proximity to the unclaimed territory was
always a deterrent to settlement.

Kai frowned. She suspected the Coalition wanted it as a

training ground for pilots, but there were plenty of deserts
elsewhere, Torri had reminded her in Newburg. Why this one?
It made no sense, putting something like that or a military base
of sorts out there. She turned left into a canteen, where she
purchased a vessel of frissol to sip on the way to her briefi ng.
Its taste reminded her of some of the teas her family grew, and
she needed that memory sharp on her tongue, especially since
she was being briefed by a member of the High Council,
something else unusual with regard to her assignment. The
High Council rarely involved itself directly with military
affairs. At least not so overtly.

Kai nodded at a private who snapped to attention and

saluted her as she passed, his civilian comrades waiting while
he performed his duty. She continued on her way to Wareni’s

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offi ce, envisioning the northwest quadrant of the Tinsdale
holdings. This was about more than a military base or
training operation. The Coalition was up to something. Kai
took a drink, but the frissol was suddenly bitter in her mouth,
like the taste of Coalition political maneuverings. Dealing with
situations like this always irritated her, because they required
so much attention to even the most trivial details. Strategic
gaming, situations like this, and a wrong move often cost
far more than an initial wager. Kai didn’t care much for petty
gambling, anyway, but where the Coalition was concerned, she
was sometimes forced into it.

She imagined that the commdisk in her boot heated, as if it

was begging her to use it, to make the decision that would grant
her the freedom she craved, the opportunity to fl y again, and
to go where she wanted when she wanted. Something she’d
never been able to do, weighted with responsibility and duty.
Something she’d started craving more and more, since her
posting at Hallifi n Port nearly two years ago. The Coalition
wasn’t interested in the well-being of its galactic residents. It
came to power simply for power, and Kai was fi nding it harder
and harder to justify service to it.

But on the other hand, what better way to fi nd out what

really was going on with regard to her family’s holdings than
through involvement in a part of the process? She gulped the
rest of her beverage and tossed the container into a wall vat,
where it would dissolve in the next few minutes. She had to
fi nd out what the Coalition was doing, and she had to ensure
the safety and fi nancial viability of her family and their
holdings. Dreams of fl ight, of freedom, were just that. Dreams.
She pressed her thumb onto the keypad outside Councilmember
Wareni’s door.

“Touch-down in thirty seconds.” Jann’s voice sounded in

Torri’s commlink as the hover thrusters engaged, slowing their
descent. She glanced at Jindor, seated to her left in the
navigator’s chair. Jindor was watching the vidscreens, already
in full regalia for this venture. Torri doubted that an actual
priestess of Cyllea would ever sully her hands at the controls
of any transport, let alone a vessel like this one, whose crew
could claim outlaw status in every Coalition port, if their true
identities were known. But there Jindor sat, hair piled on top of
her head in an intricate weave that intertwined with the bands of
a silver diadem that was decorated with crystalline blue stars.
Torri suspected the stones were sapphires, or at least excellent
facsimiles. It had taken some getting used to, seeing Jindor with
black, rather than fuchsia, hair and blue eyes. Pigments courtesy
of Jann again, who was, among other things, a master of illusion.

“Ten seconds,” Jann intoned as the Far Seek lowered itself

to Earth’s surface where it alighted with a slight jar before
settling in, allowing gravity to do what space could not, and
anchor her to the landing pad.

“Engaging landing codes,” Jindor announced, her fi ngers

fl ying over the surface of the panel, the sleeves of her deep blue
robe rolled up to free her hands and forearms for movement.
She wore a heavy silver ring on the fourth fi nger of her right
hand, a star-shaped setting on its band, fi lled with a star-shaped
sapphire.

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“Sending voucher.” Torri pressed a sequence of controls

to her right and opened a comm-channel to port security. She
spun in her chair and nodded at Saryl, seated in her own chair
behind Torri, near another set of controls. She nodded back in
acknowledgement of Torri’s cue.

“Vessel Star Chaser requesting permission to dock,” Saryl

said in clear, slow tones, using Empire.

“One moment, please,” came the clipped reply. Torri was

unable to identify the gender of the speaker. A few seconds later,
the voice continued, “Voucher received. Docking approved.
Welcome, Star Chaser. Please stand by for disembarking.”

“Standing by. Out.” Saryl closed the link and grinned at

Torri. “I trust your journey with us was enjoyable,
Guardian n’Morif?” She’d completely shaved her head,
mimicking Jann’s usual appearance, to indicate her status as
a mercenary, and they both wore black. The Coalition wasn’t
adverse to soldiers-for-hire, because their loyalty could be
bought. And the Coalition had access to far more funding than
most Resistance networks did. Mercenaries in the company of
a priestess of Cyllea were not unusual, and neither was
a mercenary running a merchant vessel. Such a combination
merely indicated a variety of services for hire.

“Moreso than I would have supposed.” Torri raised an

eyebrow and released the fasteners on her seat harness. She
stood up and smoothed her tunic, the color of rust, then checked
the sheath at her left hip. Its weight was unfamiliar still, though
she was grateful the Radij preferred dirks to swords. She would
have preferred a fi rearm, but guardians employed by Temples
were not allowed to carry such. A small pouch hung on her
right side, holding a poison monitor, antidote disk for all known
poisons, a wound closer, two comm jammers, and a tracker.
Things that temple guardians carried at all times. She tied her
hair behind her head with a plain leather thong, fi nishing just
as the Far Seek shuddered slightly as the docking magnet
engaged. And so it begins. She looked at Jindor, who appraised
her in a fi nal inspection.

A Matter of Blood

“Turn,” Jindor instructed.
Torri did so, holding her arms out.
“Good. What are your duties?” She had shifted from Empire

to Southern Edge, the syllables melding in such a way that it
sounded as if she spoke while holding a smooth stone in her
mouth.

Torri, too, switched to Southern Edge, though the language

was still a bit new on her tongue. “I am a guardian of a servant
of Cyllea and as such, I am sworn to ensure her safety and
security at all times, in all places, to the utmost of my
abilities.”

“Not bad,” Jindor said, switching back to Empire. “You’ll

pass. And since you’ve been gone from the homelands for so
long, it’s plausible that your linguistic origins have suffered
a bit.” She released her harness as well and stood, the robe
cascading in impressive shimmers around her form.

Saryl made an appreciative noise. “I’m almost of a mind to

donate to the Temple at Oiros at such a sight.”

Jindor drew herself up imperiously. “Almost?”
“Slag it, how much do you want?” Jann asked, digging in

his pockets as if for credit disks.

Torri smiled at the banter. The next few days might not

bring much of that.

“For you, kind sir, any donation to the goddess will do. For

you—” Jindor turned to Saryl. “A month’s pay. The goddess
looks kindly upon those who are so generous.”

“How kindly?” Jann grinned wickedly as Jindor unrolled

her sleeves, which fell past her fi ngertips, hiding her hands.

“As kindly as a pure, untainted servant of Cyllea can offer.”
“Which, for you, would be a bottle of Oiros holy spirits

blessed by Priestess Othne, and a quiet room to pray,” Saryl said
to Jann as she powered the Far Seek down. “Are we ready?”
She looked at each crew member in turn.

“Always ready for a Coalition fuck-job.” Jann grinned again

and smacked his left fi st into his right palm.

“Ready,” Jindor said quietly but fi rmly.

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Torri nodded once. “We’re guests here for two days. By that

time, even if we don’t have the answers I’m looking for, we’ll
leave and run the spice job early. Any longer than two days,
and we risk someone contacting Oiros directly rather than
simply checking the registries.”

They all nodded solemnly, fully aware that they were

running that risk now. What Torri was counting on was Regent
Evoran’s full attention to Jindor and impressing his neighbors
with her visit rather than doing much more than a surface check
of her credentials. Saryl and Jann wouldn’t garner a second
look from him, since they were just merchant-mercenaries under
contract with the Temple at Oiros. He no doubt saw plenty of
those in general business. Torri, as Jindor’s guardian, would
be even more invisible, since she was merely an appendage
of the priestess. Evoran had his own bodyguards, so he’d pay
little attention to anyone else’s. She, Jann, and Saryl were only
a backdrop for Jindor, who was going to ensure that attention
remained on her. Torri caught Jindor’s eye, and she knew that
if anyone could accomplish that feat, it was Jindor.

“They’re sending the greeting party,” Saryl reported.
Torri exchanged another glance with Jindor, who smiled

serenely at her. “Shar, please precede me.”

“As Othne commands.” Torri inclined her head respectfully

and led the party to the side entrance at midship. She pressed
the correct sequence on the keypad, and the door opened with
its customary hiss, the ramp descending the ten feet to the
landing pad.

“Slagging desert,” Jann muttered behind her. “When will

we do something that involves palm trees and oceans?”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Saryl muttered back as she

switched the duffl e bag with Jindor’s and Torri’s clothing to
her other hand.

Torri surveyed the terrain, and nostalgia blew through

her synapses like the dust carried in the hot, dry breezes that
wrapped around the ship’s landing gear. She’d met Kai’s
family years ago on a term break, which she normally spent

A Matter of Blood

on campus. Her own family claimed the transport was too
expensive, though she knew that was the excuse her mother
used to cover her father’s continued anger at the career
decision his daughter had made. Kai read between the excuses,
too, and took Torri with her to her own family’s holdings twice
during the course of their training, until even travel on Earth
became too dangerous as the remnants of the Empire struggled
against the Coalition’s ascent to power. She and Kai managed
to graduate before the Collapse, Torri joining Resistance forces,
Kai taking an offi cer’s track in the Coalition. Whether Kai saw
battle during those months was something neither discussed
with the other. Whatever Kai’s choices, they hadn’t severed her
from her family. Torri’s had.

She clenched and unclenched her fi sts meditatively, and

studied the buttes in the distance. Like broken teeth, they jutted
from the bone of the earth, stark against the blue of the sky and
the stretches of desert, mottled in shades of gray, brown, and
cream. Tinsdale Holdings lay fi fty miles west, minutes away
in a cruiser, but far too risky for this venture, since Kai’s sister
and stepbrother might recognize her, even with the years and
Radij scars added to her face. No, in order to uncover Coalition
plots, she needed to go to the Coalition, and hopefully Evoran
Ansi was that link.

Torri stood in the doorway, the rest of the crew behind her,

as a fl oater emerged from a black ovoid structure on the opposite
edge of the landing pad, some three hundred yards away. At that
distance, she was unable to determine how many people were
in the craft, but she suspected that Evoran was sending a decent
escort for a visiting priestess. And in many cases, temples had
cozy relationships with Coalition offi cials. Beyond the hangar,
structures slightly darker than the wind-blown desert stood as
a contrast to the buttes in the distance. Minarets with light blue
roofs gleamed in the afternoon sun, surrounded by a
mish-mash of other buildings of varying sizes. Splashes of
blues and reds served as contrast to the tans and browns of
the surrounding landscape, and the fl ashes of refl ections off a

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window or sun panel created a shimmering effect across Ansi
Holdings. From its size, the holdings probably served as a trade
center and outpost. And though she hadn’t visited Tinsdale
in nearly a decade, Ansi’s were at least twice the size. So why
wasn’t the Coalition trying to work with Evoran? Because
whatever they want isn’t here. It’s at Tinsdale.

As the fl oater approached, no one on the Far Seek spoke.

They were now subject to commchecks, and Evoran had
probably already programmed interceptors into the channels
Saryl had used to contact Ansi personnel for landing. Torri
glanced at Jann then Saryl. Both had shifted into professional
mercenary demeanor. Easy for them to do, since they’d both
served in that capacity. Jindor, meanwhile, seemed to radiate
serenity, as a priestess of Cyllea probably had to do. Some,
Torri was certain, believed in their stations as representatives
of the goddess. Others capitalized on the corruption that ran
riot through Coalition channels. How Jindor played her role
with Evoran would determine how much information they
could extract.

The fl oater’s pilot pulled within a few feet of the ramp.

Earthman, Torri gauged. The two others with him were female.
All wore light blue tunics belted at the waist that hung mid-
thigh over black trousers. Ansi colors, she deduced, though she
wasn’t certain yet whether these were security detail, staff, or
both. She eased past Jindor and started descending the ramp,
ensuring that Jindor was between her and Jann and Saryl, thus
protected front and back, in accordance with proper bodyguard
behavior. Jindor followed.

“Priestess.” The fl oater pilot addressed Jindor in Empire

and bowed at the waist. He ignored Torri, as did his colleagues.
“It is with great joy that we welcome you to Regent Evoran’s
holdings. I am Evor Ansi, next in line for the title of Holder.”

Evoran’s fi rst son, solidly built, and a few inches taller

than Torri. He wore his hair long, and it fell on his shoulders
in blond ringlets. A light blue headband kept it out of his
face. He also wore a goatee, something that had become

A Matter of Blood

an affectation of nobility among Earthmen. Evor Ansi had an
air of vanity about him and calculation in the way he appraised
them. Torri decided he would bear watching. The two with him
were probably mere security because Evor didn’t bother with
their names. Given the impression Torri got from him, he
probably ignored those he considered beneath him. His
accompaniment weren’t professionally trained, but even
someone with no formal experience could prove dangerous
simply because they misread their own abilities and the
situations in which they might fi nd themselves.

Jindor inclined her head graciously. “The goddess will be

pleased at our reception. I am Othne, representative of the
Temple of Oiros, Flori Sector. I am indebted to the crew of
the Star Chaser, Captain Cansi and Second-in-Command
Greybern, for the transport of myself and my guardian,” she
said, using their aliases.

Evor gave Saryl and Jann a cursory once-over before

deigning to acknowledge Torri. She nodded once at him, her
thumbs hooked on the leather belt around her midriff. She
expected him to forget her as soon as he registered her in his
consciousness but instead he stared at her for a few moments.
Then he turned back to Jindor. “Priestess, it is my honor to
ensure your further transport to my ancestral home.” He swept
his arm toward the fl oater as if he were asking Jindor for a
dance.

Torri stepped between Jindor and Evor and Jann brushed

past all of them to board fi rst. The fl oater bounced a bit with
his weight but he adjusted his stance and extended an arm,
waiting for Torri to help Jindor aboard. A priestess of Cyllea
never boarded any transport without someone from her
entourage boarding fi rst to ensure her safety as her guardian
helped her aboard.

Once Jindor was settled, Torri boarded, keeping Jindor

between her and Jann. Saryl came next, with the duffl e bag,
then the two female guards, and then Evor.

“May we proceed?” he asked, waiting for Jindor’s

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permission. He understood the prestige a visit from a priestess
of Cyllea could bring. Torri gave him that. But whether he was
a believer or an opportunist remained to be seen.

“We may,” Jindor announced. “Many thanks for your

courtesy.”

Evor unlocked the fl oater’s magnets and engaged the

thrusters. When he accelerated, he did so with a practiced
hand, and the craft slid forward with barely a jerk. Not thirty
seconds later, he guided it into the hangar, where he nosed into
an empty docking bay, which clicked into place on the fl oater’s
prow. Several more Ansi security/staff appeared, all wearing
the same color tunics and trousers. Saryl and Jann disembarked
fi rst, Jann helping Jindor, Torri last out.

“Regent Evoran would be most honored to receive the

priestess, unless she requires rest and perhaps a meal after her
voyage. We have reserved quarters for her and her party, as all
are guests of Ansi Holdings.”

“Ansi hospitality is most pleasing,” Jindor said as she

looked around approvingly. “I do not require rest at the
moment and would very much appreciate meeting the regent.
It is, after all, at his behest that I have come.”

Torri kept her eyes on Jindor and her expression impassive

throughout the exchange, standard in its formality and turns of
phrase. No matter how ridiculous she found it, she knew it was
part of the political currency at play here.

Evor bowed again. “It is my greatest pleasure to escort the

priestess to the reception room. Please, if you would follow
me?”

Saryl caught Torri’s eye for a second before she and Jann

started after Evor, a gesture that indicated to Torri that Saryl was
paying extra attention to their surroundings. Jindor followed,
and Torri positioned herself behind Jindor while the rest of the
Ansi staff took varying places around them. Something in their
demeanor bothered her—too watchful, too wary. Jumpy, like
green recruits on their fi rst major mission. Were they ensuring
the safety of a priestess? Or perhaps her captivity? Something

A Matter of Blood

about this reeked of Coalition, from the way Evor had studied
her to the way the guards kept glancing at each other then
Jindor then each other. Or perhaps Regent Evoran wasn’t as
much a Coalition shill as Torri thought. Perhaps he, too, was
nervous about what was going on at Tinsdale. An angle to
consider, at the very least.

Torri moved a half-step closer to Jindor, within arm’s length

as they walked down a corridor whose smooth, arched ceiling’s
color matched that of the walls—light, dry soil shades, like
the desert beyond. Glow sockets cast a warm, quiet light on
the thick, colorful tapestries that hung on the walls, many of
which depicted forest scenes. An odd juxtaposition, given the
landscape of Vegas Sector. Torri suspected they had been in
the Ansi line for generations, from the appearance of some of
them. Old Earth history, from before the Alliance, perhaps.

The procession remained silent save for the scuffi ng of boots

on the stone fl oor underfoot, and Torri thought of Tinsdale
Holdings. Though smaller, the corridors there echoed with life
and laughter, and carried the smells of food, spices, herbs, and
teas. Within the walls of Tinsdale, most of Kai’s serious and
reticent nature at the Academy melted, replaced with an easy
smile and dry wit that had not only surprised Torri, but drew
her ever closer to her bunkmate, though at the time
Torri figured Kai would never know. She understood why the
thought of losing the holdings to the Coalition wore heavy on
Kai and sank into her bones like the toxins that marred the
unclaimed territory to the north.

What she didn’t understand was what the Coalition wanted

with a small holding like Tinsdale, when Ansi was so much
larger, with better commerce and economic links to Earthbound
traders as well as offworld merchants. And that’s exactly what
she hoped to fi nd out from the Ansi holder himself.

They turned left down a shorter corridor that ended at

an archway. The space beneath it hummed faintly, and Evor
pressed his hand on the doorpad to deactivate the force shield.
Why was such a thing in use, so deep within the holdings?

Evor led them beneath the archway into a large, airy room

distinguished from the corridor simply by size and the large
table that stood in the middle of it, surrounded by ten matching
wooden chairs, one occupied by the man Torri presumed to
be Regent Evoran. He stood and bustled toward them, smiling
broadly. Evor stopped, and everyone in his party did, as well.

“Priestess, may I personally welcome you to Ansi,” Evoran

said in Empire. Like Evor, he, too, affected a goatee. He wore
plain black trousers and a white tunic, but nothing about his
clothing indicated his status. He stood no taller than Torri,
though the added girth of his paunch and his effusive greeting
made him seem somehow larger. Puzzling. Evoran clearly had
money. Why did he not pay for the alterations to his physiology,
like so many others? And why did he keep his hair gray, an
indicator of his age? Perhaps another Alliance holdover. She
took a step to her left, so that she could observe him in proper
guardian watchfulness as he approached Jindor.

“Regent Evoran, I am honored at your invitation and

request.” Jindor placed her palms together, fi ngers up, and
bowed her head in formal greeting.

He mimicked her hand gesture and stood back, beaming.

A Matter of Blood

“I can assure you, the honor is all mine. I can’t tell you how
exciting this is, that a representative of the goddess graces us
with her presence. May Cyllea fi nd it within her benevolence
to bless my holdings.” He ignored Evor and instead directed
his attention to Jindor’s accompaniment. Jindor took the cue.

“Regent, may I present Captain Birrit Cansi and Second-in-

Command Dal Greybern, of the Star Chaser. They graciously
agreed to transport me on such short notice.”

Jann and Saryl inclined their heads.
“Welcome,” Evoran said, smiling again. “My thanks to you

for being so amenable.”

“And my guardian, Shar n’Morif.” Jindor acknowledged

Torri, who nodded once at Evoran but remained silent
otherwise.

He nodded back and studied her face, as Evor had earlier.
Jindor waited a few more seconds before she broke his

scrutiny. “Regent? Is something amiss?”

“I’m sorry,” he said, jerking his attention to her. “We don’t

get many Radij here. Fascinating culture. I meant no offense.”
He directed the last to both, and Torri remained impassive
though alert. Certainly Vegas Sector wasn’t the teeming port
of Newburg, but something in his examination—like Evor’s
earlier—wasn’t mere curiosity about a distant culture. Evoran
exchanged a furtive glance with Evor, and Torri hoped that
Jindor had caught it, too.

“Indeed,” Jindor said. “And also a culture that prepares its

members from an early age for warfare. Those who leave the
homelands are thus prized in temples for their protective skills.
As I’m sure you know.”

Clever, Torri thought. Jindor had both alerted Evoran and

his son about Torri’s purported martial skills, but also warned
them that should they attempt anything underhanded, they’d
not only have a fi ght on their hands, but they risked offending
temple personnel.

“I would imagine that a Radij would fi nd Vegas Sector quite

amenable.” Evor this time, and Torri judged his statement as an

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attempt to gather information. “It’s a similar climate, after all,
to the homelands.”

“Not all of Sentinel is desert, Premier,” Jindor responded,

using the honorifi c term that denoted Evor’s position in his
family hierarchy as eldest son. “And not all Radij inhabit the
homelands.”

Torri crossed her arms and maintained her silence, a tactic

she’d learned at the Academy. She’d found that with people
who had no military background, such an approach often
proved unnerving.

“It’s my understanding,” Evoran broke in, “that all Radij

are tied to the homelands through the introduction of a parasite
of some sort.”

Jann and Saryl glanced at Torri. They probably were

wondering what in Cyllea’s name the Ansi holder was driving
at. So did she.

“Not all,” Jindor responded. “Because not all Radij are

privy to the ritual and not all receive the parasite.” She smiled
serenely. “But I did not come here to discuss the heritage of
my guardian, Regent. I am here as a representative of the
goddess and as such, I have obligations to meet and requests
to be fi lled. If it would please the regent, might he provide an
idea to Cyllea’s servant as to the specifi c nature and extent of
the blessing he wishes her to impart?”

“Of course. My apologies again, Priestess. Please forgive

my show of ignorance.” He smiled and turned to say a few
words that Torri didn’t catch to the woman who stood closest.
She nodded and headed back to the corridor that had brought
them all here. She passed easily beneath the archway, an
indication that Evor hadn’t reactivated the force shield.

“I’ve sent for refreshments. Perhaps your transport might

avail themselves of their guest quarters?”

Jindor turned to Jann and Saryl. “Is that amenable to you

both?”

“If the priestess does not require our services at this

moment,” Saryl said. “But Regent, Second Greybern and I will

A Matter of Blood

maintain quarters on the Star Chaser until departure. It’s easier
for mechanical checks.”

Evor exchanged another glance with his father and again,

Torri wondered what bargain they’d made with the Coalition
for a landing permit. No doubt the Coalition was already
running checks on the ship, though they’d find nothing
suspicious. Saryl was a master at ensuring all their permits
were in order, even if they were false.

“Are you sure?” Evor asked. “We have more than enough

room.”

“You are too kind, Premier.” Saryl inclined her head again.

“But we wish to ensure that the priestess’s transport remains
in excellent condition. We don’t want to inconvenience you
beyond the two days you’ve been permitted to host us.” With
that, Saryl turned to Jindor. “Your leave, Priestess?”

“Yes. Please inform me should anything arise.”
“Most assuredly.” Saryl fl ashed a quick glance at Torri, who

opened the commlink in her ear with a thought. Saryl and Jann
would be able to hear what transpired between Evoran and
Jindor. “Regent. Many thanks for your offer. Well met.”

“And to you. Evor, accompany them to their ship.”
Evor turned on his heel and strode out of the room, Saryl

and Jann just behind. Torri kept her attention focused on Jindor
and Evoran. So the good regent didn’t want strangers
wandering about Ansi without supervision. Did the Coalition’s
activities expand beyond Tinsdale? Or was Evoran a cautious
man? And was this about the Coalition or about internal
difficulties, something holders did have to face on occasion?

“Please, Priestess. If you would join me at the table?”

Evoran motioned for Jindor to take a seat opposite him. He
chose not to sit at the head, something Torri found appealing.
In different circumstances, he might have been avuncular.

Jindor lowered herself gracefully onto the wood, and Torri

took a station behind her, slightly to the left, so she could reach
around Jindor to the table if need be. She counted ten male Ansi
staff members who positioned themselves around the room in

Andi Marquette

a semblance of sentry duty. From their stances, they weren’t
trained soldiers. Perhaps they relied on their pistols to protect
the holder and his guests. Or, more ominously, perhaps they
were ensuring that Evoran’s guests remained in his presence as
long as he deemed necessary. Ten men, ten pistols. One didn’t
need to have military training to use a pistol, and one of them
was bound to hit either her or Jindor if, Cyllea forbid,
something untoward happened. Like, say, Evoran knew about
their subterfuge and had decided to turn them over to the
Coalition. But Torri doubted that was the case. Evoran was
worried, and most likely, it had something to do with the
Coalition moreso than a priestess of Cyllea and her guardian.

“As I specifi ed in my communication with the temple, I

have need of a blessing for my daughter’s Corderan.” Evoran
sat with his hands resting on the table, clasped together.

“A momentous and joyous occasion. I am most pleased to

offer a blessing for her. Have you selected a setting for it?”

Evoran beamed with paternal pride, and for a moment, Torri

saw Evor in his features, though she guessed that Evor would
choose not to age as his father did. “I have. And if you would,
a blessing for the Corderan site? I was hoping a morning ritual
and perhaps an afternoon . . . ? Unless the priestess fi nds that
too taxing.”

“I don’t. It shall be as you wish.” Jindor leaned forward

conspiratorially. “Does your daughter have an array of
prospective bondmates in mind?”

Torri bit the inside of her lip to keep from smiling. Jindor

was intimating that she might put in a good word with the
goddess for Liyah’s choice. Or perhaps Evoran’s choice, more
likely.

He sat back, another smile lighting up his broad features.

Positively jolly, Torri thought.

“She does. And I’m pleased to report that any one of them

would suit her well. But if you’d cast an extra blessing for
Premier Vano of Tinsdale Holdings, I would be most honored.”

Torri kept her expression blank. Kai’s half-brother was in

A Matter of Blood

the running as Liyah’s bondmate? He was nearly twenty years
her senior, if Torri remembered correctly. Then again, his fi rst
bondmate had died fi ve years ago, providing no children. Kai’s
father probably wanted to ensure a tie to Ansi, and when he
died or decided to pass holdership to Vano, both Ansi and
Tinsdale would benefi t. Evoran may have encouraged such
a bond, since Tinsdale teas garnered millions in neighboring
quadrants. On the surface, a joining like that was politically
astute for both holders. Beneath it . . . another matter entirely.
A politically expedient choice, though Torri found Vano
distasteful.

“It shall be done,” Jindor said just as an Ansi staff member

arrived with a tray of food and a pitcher of what Torri guessed
was wine. Tinsdale Holdings vinted its own, and she suspected
Ansi did, as well. The staff member set crystal goblets in front
of Evoran and Jindor. She poured for Jindor fi rst then Evoran,
after which she set empty plates in front of each.

“Please, serve yourself.” Evoran offered an expansive

gesture over the tray. In accordance with tradition, serving
oneself was an attempt on the part of the host to assure the
guest that the food wasn’t poisoned. Jindor selected two pastry
puffs most likely fi lled with local meats and an array of local
vegetables. She looked up at Torri, who removed the poison
monitor from her pouch. Her body heat activated it, and she
moved it slowly over the food items, Jindor’s goblet, and the
liquid in the pitcher which registered as wine.

“Are priestesses of Cyllea in such danger?” Evoran asked,

frowning.

“Sadly, yes. Though we are servants of the goddess, and

thus try to remain uninvolved in political or economic disputes,
there are those who wish to use us as symbols in various
confl icts. Regretful, but one can never be too careful. Please
do not take it as a personal affront. It is standard procedure at
Oiros.”

Torri nodded at Jindor and deactivated the monitor before

she put it back in her bag. She resumed her station, staring at

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a point on the wall just above Evoran’s right shoulder, her
demeanor as welcoming as a chunk of marble.

“I had no idea,” Evoran said, and he sounded sad, as if he’d

just found out that a childhood belief was false. “But I am still
amazed that you were able to come on such short notice. I hope
the compensation I have offered is acceptable.”

Jindor fi nished chewing and swallowed. “It is extremely

generous. Would it be possible for you to comm it directly to
Oiros through the Star Chaser? I wish to ensure the temple
immediately benefi ts from your generosity.”

And that Saryl can re-route it to offworld accounts, Torri

fi nished silently.

“I will indeed. Oiros doesn’t like its servants running about

with too much money, I suppose.” His eyes seemed to twinkle,
and Torri decided that in spite of what she suspected were
political machinations at the behest of the Coalition, he was
a man who meant well. But she also suspected that when
threatened, he’d acquiesce quickly, so as to avoid a fi ght. Unlike
Kai’s father, who dug in harder the more he was pushed.

Jindor smiled. “You are correct, Regent. Or running about

in any sense. We are servants of Cyllea, after all, and her
benevolence for those of us who choose a temple life is more
than enough. So tell me. I know too little about Ansi, and it
seems quite grand. You must be very proud.”

Evoran positively glowed at Jindor’s observation, and he

launched into an hour-long discourse about the history of Ansi,
the development of its spices, wines, and teas—though
Tinsdale was the expert on tea, Evoran graciously allowed—
and the effort required for its upkeep, as it included not only
the Ansi family’s dwellings but also two neighboring villag-
es, sustained by Ansi’s role in commerce. Throughout, Jindor
asked questions at appropriate intervals, laughed at the right
moments, and puffed Evoran up even more. He fi nished three
goblets of wine and called for another pitcher. Jindor had yet to
drink half of her fi rst, and she covered her goblet with her hand
when the servant returned. He fi lled Evoran’s instead.

A Matter of Blood

“Are priestesses of Cyllea allowed to share a bit of their

pasts with humble believers?” Evoran asked as he reached for
his wine. He was a bit tipsy, from his now effusive speech
pattern. Then again, he could be faking. But he was up against
Jindor, who could wrest information from the lips of dead
men.

“A bit,” Jindor said coyly. “What would the regent like to

know?”

“Where such a lovely servant such as yourself hails from.”
Torri bit the inside of her lip again.
“You are too kind, showing an interest beyond my work for

Cyllea,” Jindor defl ected. “Too often, those who request our
blessings don’t see beyond our formal trappings.” She raised
her goblet in a toast which Evoran hastened to meet. “I am
originally from Paltor Quadrant, one of the agricolonies there.
My parents were not engaged in that pursuit, unfortunately, as
my father was military.”

“Military,” Evoran repeated, a slight slur to the word. “Is

he active?”

“He was. My father died several years ago, after completing

his service honorably. My brother, however, is still active in
Vector Quadrant. I’m very proud of him.”

Excellent. Jindor was laying some groundwork for possible

Coalition sympathies.

“I wish Evor had shown an interest in military pursuits.”

Evoran took another gulp of wine. “Then again, he’s good with
business, and I need an heir who’ll ensure our stability in the
future.”

“Have you other sons?” Jindor asked, something she

already knew from her research in preparation for this venture,
but a question that might loosen Evoran’s tongue further.

“Two. One works with a spice distributor and the other

works here, to ensure that if something happened to Evor, we’d
have someone able to carry on.”

Ansi was traditional indeed. Apparently, the male heirs were

expected to shoulder the holding business. No mention of daughters

Andi Marquette

or even Evoran’s bondmate. Kai’s father, at least, prepared both
Vano and his youngest daughter Meli for holdership.

“It seems as if Ansi is well-positioned for the next

generations,” Jindor said, an extra bit of admiration in the
statement.

“Cyllea willing.” Evoran fi lled his goblet again. “Though

any time the Coalition is involved in local politics, it puts a
hindrance on business, and I’ve had to stagger my shipments
differently.” He sighed. “As much as I approve of what they
do, sometimes it’s a bother, when offi cials spend too much
time in an area.”

Torri adjusted her stance so slightly that only someone

physically touching her would realize it. Evoran was a
Coalition sympathizer. How far did his loyalties go?

“I’ve heard that from many hardworking citizens on Earth,”

Jindor said, hints of empathy in her tone. “For the good these
offi cials do, local and regional business can suffer, due to the
perceptions of others.”

“That’s exactly right,” Evoran said, looking at her with

relief, as if he’d been trying to determine where a servant of
Cyllea might stand with regard to the Coalition. “I suppose
you’ve been wondering what’s going on here, that I had to fi le
for a landing permit for your transport.”

“In truth, Regent, I had not. Coalition business is none of

mine. I am but a priestess, and serve all.” She smiled in such
a way that Evoran stared at her with open admiration. Jindor
had him by the balls, and he had no idea. Torri focused on a
different spot on the wall.

“I’m gratifi ed to hear that,” he said as he again reached for

his goblet. “My apologies in advance should the Coalition
decide to detain you upon your departure.”

The skin on the back of Torri’s neck prickled. Evoran’s body

language was past tipsy and entering drunken sod, but he might
still be in better control of his functions than he was letting on.

“Regent? Should I worry?” Jindor asked, injecting only

curiosity into the question.

A Matter of Blood

“Every ship that’s permitted to land is also subject to a

departure search.”

Jindor shrugged. “That seems reasonable. I’m sure

whatever the Coalition is doing, there’s a good purpose behind
it. I would expect offi cials would be interested in security and
the like.”

Evoran relaxed even more. “They’ve got some research

project going over at Tinsdale.” He gestured vaguely.
“Kaivan’s making it hard on all of us, that stubborn old fool.”

Torri stared harder at the wall.
“Perhaps he just wishes to ensure the security of his

holdings, as you do,” Jindor said with a smile.

Evoran drained his glass and slowly poured another. Wine

splashed onto the table but he was oblivious to it. “There’s
security,” he said, “and then there’s plain slagging stubbornness.
The Coalition isn’t doing anything with Kaivan’s extant fi elds
or the fallow land. They’re up there near the unclaimed
territory.”

“Unclaimed territory?” Jindor echoed. “Forgive me,

Regent. I’m not as familiar as I would like to be with this
area.”

“No, no. Forgive me, Priestess. I should be clearer.” He

belched softly into his hand then gulped half of his wine. “It’s
land too toxic for agriculture. Been that way since the
Fortunata Wars.”

“Ah. Well, perhaps the Coalition is looking to reclaim it,

and expand agriculture for further economic stimulus in Vegas.
Such a thing would surely benefi t all the holdings in the area.”

Never underestimate what casual conversation might

reveal. Evoran was a political novice in this exchange, and he
probably wouldn’t remember much of it in the morning. Torri
felt almost bad for him.

“If it were only that simple,” he said, ending the statement

with a heavy sigh. “They’re conducting some kind of
bioresearch.”

Torri swallowed as unobtrusively as she could, so as not

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to draw his attention to her and interrupt the flow of
information.

“How strange.” Jindor took what looked like a sip of wine.

She’d most likely just tasted it before setting her goblet down.

“Some kind of work with parasites.” He glanced at Torri.
“Parasites?” Jindor’s interest sounded polite, as if she

truly didn’t care what the Coalition was up to. Torri picked
a different spot on the wall to examine, but her thoughts
were roiling. Parasites. In general? Or specifi cally, the kind
of parasites that were indigenous to the Radij homelands? She
glanced at Evoran to gauge whether he had directed his
parasite comment at her because she happened to be
masquerading as Radij or if there was a link between what the
Coalition was doing and the Radij, but he was staring moodily
at the table. Her skin prickled.

“There’s a compound of some kind up there,” Evoran said,

unhappy. “We think it’s military.” It probably detracted from
local business. Coalition regulations always put a damper on
that, but combined with military machinations, commerce here
was probably reeling. “Evor thinks it’s a bioweapon of some
sort, and that’s why they’re doing the research in the unclaimed
territory. If something happens, the weapon won’t survive and
put the population at risk.”

The Coalition didn’t give a wild eldim shit about that.

Offi cial policies were always about profi t, not safely. No, they
were in the unclaimed territory because it kept locals from
trying to fi gure out what they were up to.

“I can imagine that has had an effect on your business,”

Jindor said, layering sympathy thick.

“More than anyone could guess,” Evoran griped. “I’m hoping

that your blessings will help morale around here. I hope you
don’t mind, but I’ve invited Tinsdale and Burnside representa-
tives to attend one of those tomorrow. The afternoon one.”

Morale. Perhaps Evoran was afraid for his safety from

residents of his own holdings. That, too, might explain what
seemed like unnecessary security.

A Matter of Blood

“Not at all,” Jindor said. “Cyllea extends her blessings to all

who welcome them.”

He belched behind his hand. “We use standard Earth time

for this sector. Morning meal will be at seven.”

“I look forward to it.” Jindor inclined her head graciously

and the way Evoran looked at her, Torri was glad Jindor
masqueraded as a priestess, and was considered off-limits to
carnal pursuits. The last thing they needed was a randy, smitten
Coalition sympathizer trying to talk his way beneath Jindor’s
robes. Not that Torri blamed him that.

“My thanks, Priestess,” Evoran slurred. “And now, I’m sure

you must be exhausted from your travels. I’ll have someone
escort you to your quarters.” He waved one arm absently in the
air, as if trying to dissuade an annoying insect, and the female
servant who had brought out the food approached.

“Please accompany the good priestess and her guardian to

their quarters,” he said as he pushed back from the table and
nearly upset the pitcher of wine.

“Yes, Regent.” The servant turned to Jindor. “Priestess, if

you please?”

Torri stepped back to give Jindor room to stand. Evoran

leaned on the table with both hands, an expression of bemusement
on his face. If he wasn’t drunk, he was a damn good actor.

“Many thanks, Regent, for your hospitality. I’ll see you on

the morrow,” Jindor said with a radiant smile.

“The pleasure was all mine. It’s been too long since I had

such gracious company at my table.” Had he not been drunk,
Torri suspected his words would not have carried the hint of
sexual invitation that he placed on them.

The servant looked at him, uneasy, but not shocked.

Perhaps Evoran had a history of this type of behavior. A male
servant stepped forward and gently took Evoran’s left arm so
he could pull him carefully from the table. A familiar motion,
Torri saw, and an indication of Evoran’s proclivities. The
servant had probably had to do this at least a few times in the
past. She turned and followed Jindor, keeping a pace between

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them as the servant led them from the room. She glanced back
to see Evoran sagging against the servant even as he tried to
wave him off. Torri directed her eyes at Jindor’s back. Evoran’s
behavior tonight had provided a glimpse into the inner
workings of Ansi and possibly clues about the Coalition.
Nothing was as it seemed here.

“May I have your name?” Jindor asked as she and Torri

were led down the corridor away from the reception hall.

The servant looked over her left shoulder at her, surprised.

Young, Torri gauged. Maybe not yet twenty. She wore her dark
hair long, and it hung down her back in a single braid through
which bits of colored ribbon had been woven, a nice
complement to the light blue tunic.

“Serris, Honored One.”
“Well, my thanks for escorting us. Are you able to attend

the blessings tomorrow?”

“I don’t know,” she said, and her disappointment indicated

that she most likely could not.

Jindor stopped, which brought both Torri and Serris to a

halt as well. “Have you ever seen a blessing?”

“Not in the fl esh.” Serris dropped her gaze in deference.
“Then you shall attend. I’m sure the Regent can survive

without you for an hour or two.”

She looked up, hopeful. “I would be most honored,

Priestess.”

“Certainly.” Jindor gestured for her to continue leading

them. While Jindor chatted amiably with the servant, who
seemed more dumbstruck than anything else that a servant of
the goddess would wish to engage her in conversation, Torri
memorized the route they took. They walked deeper into the
holdings, using the main corridor that had initially brought

Andi Marquette

them to the audience room. One turn left, then a right, then a
second right, and Serris stopped at a solid wooden door.

“Your quarters,” she said.
“Thank you. But tell me,” Jindor said, “what I should

expect upon the morrow.”

“Priestess?” Serris raised her eyebrows, confused.
“Should I incorporate a blessing for all Ansi residents?”
Serris relaxed. “Oh, yes. We would appreciate that.”
“Very well. A blessing for strong commerce? Favorable

weather? What do you suppose?”

Serris started to say something then stopped. After a

moment, she tried again. “Clear heads, Honored One.” And
she looked meaningfully in the direction they’d just come
from. And then she dropped her gaze, a fl ush spreading on her
pale features.

“It shall be done,” Jindor said, her tone putting Serris at

ease.

“Thank you, Priestess.” Serris stepped forward and pushed

on the metal door handle. It clicked, and Serris opened it
inward. This was clearly one of the older parts of Ansi. No
keypads here. Which might not be a bad thing for security
purposes, since a keypad could be programmed for anyone.
No keypad meant a door usually locked from the inside,
allowing the occupants to control access. But only if they, too,
were inside.

“You should fi nd all you need within, Priestess. We assumed

your guardian would share quarters with you. There is an extra
bed in the antechamber.”

“Many thanks, Serris. I look forward to seeing you on the

morrow.” Jindor stood aside so Torri could enter fi rst, under
the pretense of checking to make sure all was in order. Though
given the evening with Evoran, Torri would have checked it
anyway. Ansi reeked of Coalition. Lowering one’s guard is
tantamount to lowering one’s trousers. Choose the time and
place of your exposure wisely. Torri remembered the muffl ed
snickers at Master Darr’s pronouncement. But she had been

A Matter of Blood

right. Lines blurred in matters of war and peace, whether in or
out of the bedroom.

“Priestess, if you would wait here, in the entranceway?”

Torri motioned for Jindor to enter.

“One moment.” Jindor looked at Serris. “If it’s not too much

trouble, might someone bring a meal for Shar?”

Serris’s eyes widened. “Oh, I’m terribly sorry. Usually

security details work in shifts and take turns—” Another fl ush
splashed across her face.

Jindor touched Serris’s arm in a comforting gesture. “It’s

quite all right. I don’t expect you’ve had many visitors who
require the constant attendance of but one person.”

“No, we haven’t. I’m so sorry. I’ll take care of it immediately.”

She turned and walked swiftly down the corridor, deeper into
the holdings, probably mortifi ed that the priestess’s guardian
had not been fed.

“My thanks, Priestess,” Torri said, remaining in character.

“Please?” She motioned again, and Jindor nodded, entered,
and stood to one side while Torri closed the door, its dark wood
solid and smooth beneath her hand. The latch clicked, and she
slid the deadbolt. Old. But effective. She glanced at Jindor and
put a fi nger to her lips then signaled for her to wait by the door.
From her pouch she removed a tracker and sent it on its way
ahead of her, watching its progress on the image it projected to
her wristcam. It detected no body heat, no moisture that would
signal respiration, no suspicious odors. She adjusted its
capabilities and checked for listening devices and vid. None,
but she would float a couple of jammers throughout
regardless.

Torri recalled the tracker and returned it to her pouch. She

left Jindor in the foyer and entered a small sitting room
decorated with two light blue couches and one dark blue chair.
Cushions in an array of colors decorated the furnishings in
turn. A low table between the couches held a tray of empty
goblets. Off the sitting room to the right lay the antechamber
with the spare bed and beyond that a large master bedroom.

Andi Marquette

On the massive bed sat the duffl e bag from the ship. Torri ran
a few more exams on it with the poison detector and also with
her wrist tracker. Jann had rigged it with one of his ingenious
security devices. If anyone had opened the bag, he would have
received notifi cation through his commlink and then pinged
Torri. He hadn’t, so chances were, the bag had been delivered
as luggage, with no further examination.

The doorway in the far corner of the master bedroom took

her into the spacious bathroom the tracker had examined.
Sunken marble tub, but a shower tube as well plus commode
facilities and double sink. Evoran’s staff had stacked plush
light blue towels on a marble counter that seemed to serve no
other purpose than towel holder. Comfortably elegant,
retro-fi tted with a few amenities like a beverage dispenser in
one of the sitting room’s walls.

“All is in order,” she announced in Southern Edge. “You

must rest. The day has been long. Shall I acquire something to
drink for you?”

“No. But thank you.” Jindor smiled and brushed past her,

the fabric of her robe wrapping momentarily around Torri’s
arm. It slid over her hand, the feel not unlike warm skin. No,
Torri couldn’t blame Evoran in the least for his attraction to
Jindor. The wine had merely amplifi ed it. Jindor headed for the
master bedroom, and Torri released two jammers into the air,
programmed for highest security. They orbited around her head
before slowly drifting into the sitting room.

“Priestess, do you require further assistance?”
“Not at this time. I’m going to bathe, I think, and then to bed.”
“As you wish.”
Jindor winked at her and retreated to the bathroom. They

couldn’t discuss the evening’s events. Not here. But when an
opportunity presented itself, they would. For now, they’d
remain in character.

Torri leaned against the wall by the door, waiting for

her much-needed meal, mulling what Evoran had revealed.
Parasites. Bioresearch. Had what she and Jindor discussed

A Matter of Blood

briefl y on the Far Seek come to pass? Ridiculous. Nobody could
get a parasite off Sentinel. But the thought stayed with her.

Kai stood with her duffl e on the landing pad, the chill desert

night both familiar and ominous on her exposed face. Behind
her, the transport vented, hissing like the rock snakes she’d
hunted with Meli when they had been children here. Kai knew
this landscape intimately, like she might a lover, and even in
the dark, she knew she could fi nd the spot where Meli had been
bitten by one of the snakes, some thirty paces to her left,
behind the transport. And if she went west—to her right—she’d
end up at Blackdraw Canyon, carved by a long-dead river.

Behind her lay Poison Land, Meli’s childhood name for the

unclaimed territory. And, according to Councilmember Wareni,
the place the Coalition was conducting its latest weapons
research. Wareni had glossed over the description of what the
Coalition was doing here, even as she assured Kai that Tinsdale
Holdings were not in any contamination danger, and that her
cooperation was absolutely essential to the continuation of the
project and how thankful the Coalition was for Kai’s efforts.
As if she had a choice.

Kai spat, the moisture marking her presence. The earth

would absorb it, like it had absorbed parts of her in the past as
she grew to adolescence, in spite of herself. Kai needed that
connection, needed the familiarity of it as she assessed the
extent of Wareni’s lies and what she might do about them, and
how she might determine how legitimate this facility was. Not
that anything the Coalition did was ever legitimate. But there
were activities sanctioned fully by the Council, released over
media and comm channels, and then there were operations like
this one, that stank of individual profi t and secrets within secrets.

She licked her lips, dry in this climate. Her father would

not sell, but the Coalition had ways of forcing their issues. The
only thing he had in his favor was his reputation as a holder
and merchant. A long ancestry, a strong reputation, and

Andi Marquette

the Coalition treaded gently, something far more dangerous,
in some ways, than a show of force.

Kai’s right hand drifted beneath her coat to her pistol,

holstered on her right thigh, a more comfortable position than
on her hip. She wanted to walk to the hangar, but her instructions
were to wait for pick-up. To wait for escort into her ancestral
home. Kai’s mood carried a deeper chill than the night air.

She inhaled and exhaled through her nose, focusing on her

diaphragm, seeking calm. A fl oater light bounced in the
darkness a few hundred yards distant, emerging from the
hangar. Which she could have found blindfolded. She took
several deep, cleansing breaths, and repeated a mantra from
her Academy days in her head, as the fl oater stopped a few feet
from her.

“Commander Tinsdale?” said a genderless voice in

Coalition from the vehicle.

“Yes.”
“Please accompany me to Major Sorreth.”
Kai hefted her duffl e into the fl oater and climbed in after

it. The genderless driver waited for her to strap in before he/
she disengaged the floater’s magnets and turned back to
the hangar. The driver’s features were all planes and angles in
the dim control panel light, as if cut from crystal. He/she wore
a black Coalition uniform, lieutenant rank denoted on his/her
right bicep. The lieutenant’s name would be on the left
pectoral, but from this angle, Kai couldn’t see it. The lights
from the control panel weren’t bright enough. Besides, the ride
was over. Kai released the belt and climbed out. She retrieved
her duffl e and waited as the driver got out as well.

“This way, please.”
Kai chafed at the instruction. As if she wouldn’t know where

she was going in her own damn household. She fought an urge
to pass the lieutenant and lead the way to her father’s private
study, where she knew he’d be waiting for her. They entered
the hangar, and Kai detected spice, Danton tea, and citrus. The
smells she missed the most when she left. Five fl oaters were

A Matter of Blood

docked here, none of them Coalition, for which Kai was glad.
Good. Let them park outside in the dust and wind.

Lieutenant Unknown led them across the hangar, and his/

her walk signaled a career soldier, crisp and exacting about
foot placement. Kai was leaning female, but knew that wasn’t
always the case, as the lieutenant might not have a gender. The
nuances of Empire allowed for such contingencies in its
linguistic structure. Coalition did not, in which case the
lieutenant would choose one of the binary terms for self-
identifi cation. As Kai assessed the lieutenant’s physiology, she
decided she’d put money on “female,” if she were a gambling sort.

The double doors that led from hangar to internal corridor

stood open, and as they approached, another Coalition soldier
appeared from that corridor, dressed in offi cer’s gray. He strode
toward them, exuding a controlled energy that Kai imagined
pumped through him like hydrocoils in engine thrusters.

“Commander,” he said, in a smooth tenor that carried hints

of warmth and humor, even in Coalition. She couldn’t place his
accent, and from his physical appearance, she wasn’t certain
of his genetic background. He stood a hair taller than Kai, and
his sleek black hair was cut so close to his scalp that it looked
almost like paint, a mirror to his eyebrows. He smiled, and the
motion displayed a set of small, even teeth the color of bleached
bone. “I’d welcome you, but I’m the guest here. In which case,
my thanks to you and your family.” He nodded once at her and
offered a brief salute. “Andris Sorreth. Thanks for helping with
this. Transport trip okay?” He motioned her with him down the
corridor, the lieutenant bringing up the rear.

“Fine.” She positioned herself on his left and matched his

stride. Given her mood about this venture, and the presence of
Coalition crawling throughout her family’s holdings, she was
not in such a light mood.

“I assume Wareni fed you some info?”
Kai shot a glance at him, both surprised and amused in spite

of her thoughts. “She did.”

“And I suspect you don’t believe half of it.” He turned his

Andi Marquette

head, and his small, amber eyes twinkled. That was the only
way to describe the mirth dancing in them.

“Major—”
“Andris. We’re going to be working together, and it’s a lot

of this-and-that, having to speak in rank. Isn’t that right, Bal?”
He turned completely around and walked backward for a few
steps so he could address the lieutenant.

“Yes, sir.”
Andris sighed and resumed walking forward. “Still can’t

get her to de-rank in casual circumstances. I hope you’re not
one of those, Tinsdale.”

“One of what?” she asked, pleased that she would have won

a bet about the lieutenant’s gender. Or rather, at least with
regard to how the lieutenant chose to be defi ned.

“One of those with a medical probe up the ass about certain

things.” He had switched to Empire and he came to a halt in the
middle of the corridor. Bal was apparently used to his behavior,
because she stopped, as well, without running into him. Kai
had taken an extra step before she realized she was now ahead
of him. “Look,” he said, continuing in Empire. “I’ll not bandy
about with this. Your reputation precedes you.”

“Good to know, in some quarters,” she responded in

Empire, thinking that medical probes like the ones he alluded
to were hardly in use anymore within Earth’s galaxy.

He put his hands on his hips. “From your records, you build

the best soldiers, the best squadrons, the best operations. And
you’re clean. Exemplary. No evidence of corruption, straying,
or untoward behavior.”

“Your point?” she asked, her infl ection one of curiosity

rather than challenge. As odd as his approach was, she did
appreciate that he offered to show his hand.

“The best soldiers know which rules to follow and which

to bend, and they know how to apply those standards in any
situation.” He stated it as if it were a factoid recorded in some
scientifi c database.

“Are you also applying a judgment?” She was amused, now,

A Matter of Blood

more than anything. Andris Sorreth was an intriguing break from
the rigidity of her usual interactions with Coalition offi ciates.

“Absolutely not,” he said, raising his eyebrows which, Kai

realized, were actually tattoos. Affectation? Or cultural more?

“Ah. So in keeping with your thought process, you are

insinuating that since I have such a reputation, I don’t follow
all the rules.” She pursed her lips, pretending to contemplate.

“I’ll toss Bal here out an airlock if I’m wrong.”
“Sir?”
Kai looked at Bal. “Not to worry.”
“So you’re conceding my point,” he said, a layer of teasing

smugness in his words.

“Not necessarily. Tossing lieutenants out airlocks is against

regulations. Plus,” she said, holding up her free hand to keep
him from interrupting, “it’s simply not pragmatic to throw out
a perfectly good soldier.”

He laughed, then, a sound that was half-snort. “Excellent. I

had to lick a lot of boots to get you on board with this project.
Why the slagheaps at the top foot-dragged on it, I’ve yet to
fi gure out.” He started walking again. “My guess is, they don’t
want you to be uncomfortable about bioweapons research close
to your family holdings.”

“A reasonable assumption,” Kai said, “and one most

reasonable beings would understand in similar circumstances.”

“But that’s why it’s imperative that you’re here. It’ll force a

little transparency.”

Kai glanced at him, bemused. “That’s not necessarily

offi cial policy, I’m afraid.”

He stopped at the door to her father’s study. “Exactly. It’s

unoffi cial. They don’t want to come off looking like shit-
trollers. Not on Earth, not with a lineage like yours, not in a
close-knit region like this.”

They. Who? Coalition military offi cials? Their civilian links?

Kai regarded him for a moment, weighing several thoughts,
the foremost that Andris Sorreth, amusing as he might be, was
a Coalition shill who was trying to fl ush her out and force

Andi Marquette

an admission of anti-Coalition sentiment. Or perhaps he was
seeking support from her in this venture. She decided she
wasn’t interested in verbal sparring matches with him, or in
his quirky approach. “I’m here under orders, Major. And I will
perform my duties to the utmost of my abilities while I am on
assignment. Is there anything else I need to know at this time
before I address Holder Tinsdale?”

Andris sighed the same way he had sighed at Bal earlier.

“No. I’ll see you at oh-seven hundred for a briefi ng, and then
we’ll jump in to the project.”

“Very well.” She saluted him and nodded at Bal, who

saluted back. Before he could say anything further, Kai pressed
her thumb onto the keypad and waited for her father to grant
her entrance.

“You can’t fool me,” Andris said in teasing Empire as the

door slid open. “You’re much more fun than that.”

“Perhaps not,” she responded blandly in Coalition. “Good

night.” And she turned and entered the study to greet her
father.

Kai fi nished her wine but didn’t set her glass down, not yet.

She held it up, enjoying the way the light from the glow sockets
bounced off it and the decanter near her left hand. Solid and
enduring, glass. How unlike the beverage containers she used
almost every day as a soldier. Organically derived synthetics
that dissolved within hours, if not minutes. And the table—she
ran one of her hands over its surface, admiring the deep gloss
of the eldwood, rubbed to a smooth mirror by generations of
use. It had been a fi xture in this conference room as long as Kai
could remember, and when she was a child, she’d come here to
sit and stare out the windows at desert stars. This room proved
a sanctuary for her, and few knew she had haunted it as much
as whatever ghosts of the past did.

She leaned back in her chair, carved eldwood like the table,

and half-slouched in uncharacteristic military fashion. But she

A Matter of Blood

was not offi cially on duty, and she shed that identity as easily
as she did the uniform. She thought briefl y of Sorreth but
dismissed him within a few moments. Time enough to deal
with him later. Right now, she was at home—a place she hadn’t
seen in the fl esh for fi ve years. In some ways, it still fi t her like
an old coat, but in others, she was as much a stranger here as
Sorreth.

Her father, in his characteristic brusque manner, had greeted

her warmly albeit stiffl y and taken his leave within ten minutes,
though he did ensure that a staff member Kai didn’t know
relieved her of her duffl e. “It’ll be in your rooms,” her father
had said, and he’d squeezed her shoulder once more and left,
taking part of the room with him, somehow. As soft-spoken as
he was, he still managed to fi ll a space with his presence. Always
had. The solidity of his frame, and how he moved within it
seemed to leave an aura in his wake, like the roiling waves and
ripples on water that followed an ancient ship’s passage. But
like the thick rugs on the fl oor, he, too, had frayed at the edges,
and Kai thought a hard tug on one of the threads might unravel
him, expose things he’d spent years working to keep buried.

She turned the glass, and the light ricocheted off its faceted

surface, each one a metaphor for the many facets of Kaivan
Tinsdale, a man Kai barely knew, though she often saw his
features in her own, often saw his slate grey eyes staring at
her from mirrors, and she sometimes caught herself saying
something he used to when she was a child. Strange, how a
man like that stamped her physiology with his genetic material
but left little, if any impression on her as a father.

In spite of the detached, almost formal relationship she had

with him, she knew Kaivan Tinsdale was not a man
easily swayed or easily led. A man who carried decades of
pride and the desultory weight of history on his shoulders, who
had survived the Collapse intact, and thriving, even—this was
the man the Coalition was trying to force into a sale of his
ancestral holdings.

Kai set the glass on the table. The Coalition might have

Andi Marquette

considered harnessing a black hole instead. The door behind
her broadcasted its opening with a mechanical whisper.

“I thought I’d fi nd you here.”
Kai stood at Meli’s voice. “Old habits,” she said with a grin.

“How are you?”

“As well as can be expected.” She wrapped Kai in a bear

hug, a motion incongruous for the delicate, elegant fi gure Meli
still cut. Tonight she wore a deep crimson sari accented with
a turquoise and yellow sash. Matching slippers adorned her
feet and gold ribbons were woven throughout her lustrous light
brown hair, a shade darker than Kai’s own. “I’ve missed you,”
she said against Kai’s shoulder. “Our father isn’t the most
social creature, as you know.”

Kai laughed and gave her an extra squeeze before she

stood back and appraised her. “I see which of us got all of
Mother’s beauty. Every time I see you, there’s more of her
in you.”

Meli made a dismissive motion with one perfect hand,

though her eyes sparkled with wit. Something else inherited
from their mother. “And you. Quite the dashing fi gure, even
out of uniform.”

“You got Mother’s gift with compliments. How is Tarkin?

Speaking of dashing.”

Meli pulled Kai back to the table and sat down, gesturing

for Kai to sit with her. “My husband is no doubt picking the
brains and kissing the asses of various Coalition offi cials.”

Kai glanced around the room meaningfully.
“Don’t worry. I keep jammers in here. Tarkin buys them

from certain merchants whose connections ensure their
reliability.” Meli smiled at her, and Kai relaxed.

“Do Tarkin’s actions surprise you?” Kai asked.
“Of course not. He has ambitions. And if you wish to

capitalize on opportunity, then you must bed the people who
provide it. Though I’m sure he’s bedding some for his own
enjoyment. As long as he doesn’t bring me into any of his
plans, we get along quite well.”

A Matter of Blood

“Where is he now?”
Meli brushed an errant strand of hair away from her face.

“Drinking profusely with several Coalition soldiers. The
extremely annoying Major Sorreth may be one of them.”

Kai lifted an eyebrow. “I’ve only just had the pleasure of

the major’s company this evening.”

“How utterly wonderful for you. Did he tell you about your

reputation and what a great soldier you are?” Meli reached
over her for the decanter. She poured wine into Kai’s glass
and sipped delicately while she still held the decanter in her
other hand. Satisfi ed, she set it down and sipped from the glass
again.

“I see you’ve met him, as well.”
“Unfortunately.” Meli set the glass down. “Let’s talk about

him later, after you’ve spent a day with him. I want to compare
impressions.”

Classic Meli, Kai thought. She’d always been Kai’s

comrade in subterfuge. And I’ve been away much too long.

“I wish I could see you more,” Meli said, pushing her lower

lip out in a pout. “Father refuses to speak with me about the
research the Coalition is conducting.” She traced the rim of
her glass with one fingertip. “So I’ve had to do my own
reconnaissance, as I’m sure you’d call it. Something else you
and I need to discuss.”

“Does he talk to Vano about it?” Kai grimaced, thoughts of

Vano sticking in her mouth like a bad taste.

“Not that I know. But Father has been talking to the regional

holders. He thinks that if he creates enough rumblings among
them, it’ll keep the Coalition from trying to force us out.”

Kai’s stomach knotted, and anger roiled in her chest,

threatening to push into her throat. “It’s not a bad strategy. A
dust storm across Coalition viewports.”

“No argument here.” Meli pushed the glass toward Kai,

and Kai took a drink. Not the best of the Tinsdale wines, but
a smooth one regardless, with nutty tones and hints of parador
spices.

Andi Marquette

“Where does Vano stand in all this?”
“As far away as possible. He has designs on Liyah Ansi,”

Meli said with a touch of distaste that was directed at their half-
brother and not at Liyah. “Her Corderan is scheduled to take
place in about six weeks.”

The wine was suddenly bitter on Kai’s tongue. “She’s half

his age,” she said softly, not bothering to hide her disgust.

“Evoran’s pushing for it. Father hasn’t either endorsed or

rejected the idea. He’s not enamored of Evoran, who spends
far more time with his liquor and other pursuits than the
business of holding. Rumors are that his own residents are
none too pleased with his actions.”

Which might prove either useful or benefi cial, thought Kai.

If Ansi was distracted by internal problems, he might not have
time or inclination to go to the Coalition and build an alliance
against Tinsdale. She thought then of her half-brother. “Typical
Vano. Putting his own interests ahead of the family’s.”

Meli smiled sardonically, the way she did when she chose

not to voice her sarcasm. “He claims it’s for all of us, if he can
become Liyah’s bondmate. After all, an alliance with a hold
as large as Ansi could prove lucrative economically and
politically. And as piss-poor a leader that Evoran’s become, he
still has a lot of money and a lot of favors to call in.”

Kai took another sip of wine in the hopes that it might

wash the taste of Vano out of her mouth. “Evoran would sell
his own children to Endor slavers if he thought it would
advance his standing with the Coalition.” She remembered
the Ansi holder well during her Academy days, and she’d
heard the talk in the halls of Tinsdale and Burnside, before
the Collapse. Evoran was not to be trusted even then. She
doubted that had changed.

“Speaking of Ansi money, Evoran’s commissioned a

priestess of Cyllea to perform some blessings at his hold.”
Meli said it conspiratorially, as if she and Kai were teens again,
planning to infi ltrate a gathering.

“He thinks he can buy himself a deity’s favor?” But Kai

A Matter of Blood

knew it wasn’t about that. No, Evoran was shrewd. A blessing
from a priestess meant public attention and a full social
calendar from other holders who cared about such things. And
there were many.

“No, he thinks he can buy a temple’s favor,” Meli corrected.
“Good point. Which one?”
“Oiros, in Flori Sector.”
Kai frowned, thinking. Oiros was the closest temple, as

distant as it was. This half of Amer Province had been woefully
neglected where servants of Cyllea were concerned. It made
sense that Evoran would have contacted Oiros in search of a
blessing. “How much money is he paying?”

“I knew you’d ask. A million, at least.”
Kai made a little noise of surprise in the back of her throat.

“For a blessing?” Evoran did indeed have a lot of money.

Meli shrugged, a gesture that implied she knew far more

than she let on but was far too circumspect to reveal it. She
missed her calling, Kai thought. She would have excelled as an
offi cial politician. “Is the priestess going to bless the Corderan,
then?”

“Yes, but not when it’s slated. She’s at Ansi now, and

scheduled to perform two blessings tomorrow, one for the
future Corderan and one for Ansi Holdings overall.”

Kai poured another glass of wine. “And I’m sure that Meli

Tinsdale has already received the invitation to such an event.”
She raised her eyebrows and handed the glass to her.

Meli gave Kai one of her “perhaps I haven’t, perhaps I

have” looks. “I’ll have some food brought,” she said as she
took the wine. “We have a lot of talking to do.”

Kai smiled. “We do indeed.”

Torri followed Jindor like a shadow and appraised the crowd

that had gathered in the reception hall after Jindor’s blessing
ceremonies—so convincing that Torri wondered if Jindor had
temple training. For a moment this morning, she’d felt guilty as
Jindor, under falsehood, called upon Cyllea to provide blessings
and prosperity to Ansi and to Liyah in her future Corderan.
Followers of religion frowned on that sort of thing. But then
again, the public mood here seemed much better than it had
been prior to the blessings. People believed what they wanted
to, and if for a moment belief in a false priestess brought them
some peace of mind, was that such a bad thing?

Ansi had many secrets, and from Torri’s observations at the

square where Jindor performed, neither Evoran nor Evor were
popular among residents and staff. A few comments not meant
to be overheard and many surreptitious glares at both father
and son convinced Torri that Ansi sat on a political grenade,
and anything might trigger it. How the Coalition fi gured into
that she wasn’t sure—or if it did at all—and how specifi cally it
affected Tinsdale was also anybody’s guess. No wonder Evoran
had paid so much for a priestess. He was trying to curry favor
with his own residents and staff but also create an illusion for
his fellow holders, an illusion of a standing that he no longer
held. It was entirely possible that he would use whatever the
Coalition was doing at Tinsdale as leverage to further his goal
of reclaiming lost status.

A Matter of Blood

Jindor moved freely among the people gathered here,

perhaps a hundred, all representatives from other holdings. She
wore a white silk gown that Saryl had altered so it fell to the
tops of Jindor’s white slippers. It fl owed around her legs when
she moved, a striking contrast to the black of her hair, piled
again atop her head and held in place by her silver diadem.
Jindor was hard to miss.

As was Evoran, who bulled his way through knots of people,

laughing loudly, patting backs, gripping shoulders. He was
dressed in a light blue tunic and black trousers today, like all
Ansi staff and residents. But Torri invariably picked him out
of the crowd because of his bellowing laughter—she was sure
he’d started drinking—and his rotund form. A ball bouncing
from corner to corner. Oh, yes, he’d scored political capital,
bringing a priestess of Cyllea to Ansi, and he was making
sure to pound that point home. And pound a few drinks as
well.

Evor drifted along the periphery of the hall, his head bobbing

against the background of the tapestries he passed, a detached,
almost macabre addition to the depicted scenes. Torri lost sight
of him when a contingent from Burnside, by their colors,
swallowed him. She caught sight of him a few minutes later,
engaged in conversation with a male Ansi staff member and a
woman in a Coalition offi cer’s dress uniform. Not unexpected
to see Coalition here. Evoran was trying to play all sides and,
in spite of Torri’s low opinion of him as a holder, he did know
how to throw a party.

He’d chosen a room that was large enough to accommodate

twice the number of people in attendance, but its ceiling
couldn’t have been more than fi fteen feet tall, lending a sense
of intimacy to the myriad conversations swirling around her.
It was almost like being in a public market, except people
bartered politics here, and a handshake or agreement might
be worth more than a shipment of black market spices. Torri
looked for the Coalition offi cer again but didn’t see her. Evor
was not where he had been, either. An angle that might need

Andi Marquette

100

investigation, though she wasn’t yet sure of the approach. She
scanned the rest of the room, assessing.

A long table constructed of a dark wood Torri didn’t

recognize occupied the center of the room like a large
sleeping animal, ponderous and solid. The massive claws on
its legs only helped the illusion. Guests moved around it, past
it, and away from it, as if they, too, worried about waking it.
Some, braver than others, stopped to retrieve a food item from
its surface or pour another glass of wine from the dozens of
bottles Evoran had provided.

Jindor, like Torri, had already eaten a few things, and now

she sipped Danton tea from a heavy crystal goblet, smiling
and greeting people as they approached and engaged her. Torri
smelled the tea every time Jindor moved, a subtle mixture of
citrus, cinnamon, and tarfruit. A Tinsdale signature, and she
thought again of Kai, and about where she might be stationed
now. Her breathing increased, as it always did when Kai was
on her mind. But whatever she found on this trip, she couldn’t
risk notifying Kai directly, though if it was as damaging as she
suspected, she’d have to alert the Tinsdales somehow. Perhaps
she could go through Meli. Not Kaivan, with his legendary
stubborn streak and lack of subterfuge. He would refuse to
accept anything unless he saw it with his own eyes—an
admirable quality in many cases, but in this instance, one that
could prove detrimental to his holdings.

And defi nitely not Vano, who would keep the information

for himself and work his own bargain with the Coalition. Torri
had met Kai’s half-brother on her second visit to Tinsdale
and disliked him immediately. Physically, he might have been a
human version of a rodent, with his pinched features and the
almost triangular shape of his skull. Vano’s broad forehead
narrowed to his chin, like the two sides of a triangle whose apex
had been hidden beneath a goatee. Kaivan’s fi rst wife must have
provided her son his unfortunate visage, since Torri saw none
of Kaivan’s in him. Vano was sneaky, she had thought then. She
doubted time had softened either his features or his personality.

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101

She scanned the room for Jann and Saryl, and located them

near the table, chatting with a couple of Ansi staff and three
people in colorful dress that didn’t seem to indicate a
particular hold. Good. Not every holder broadcasted his or her
standing, even at offi cial functions. In situations like this, rife
with people whoring for attention, she tended to gravitate
toward those whose trappings offered no clues about social
standing or status. Those were the ones, she had learned, who
tended to be the most important among their peers, and who
often had the most useful information. People who felt no need
to advertise were secure in their status, and had no real reason
to lie.

“Priestess, it is a great honor that we were able to view your

blessing,” said an Earthman in Empire. He had a fl at, round
face that made Torri think of Earth’s moon. His hair had a similar
whitish-grey tinge to it, though his countenance was ageless
and smooth, a sign that he was not interested in going through
some of the physiological changes of human aging. He wore
dark green trousers and a plain white shirt that looked like silk.
It bloused loosely around his arms but came to tight cuffs at
his wrists. He kept fi ddling with a heavy gold ring on the last
fi nger of his left hand.

“I am pleased to be of service.” Jindor inclined her head,

waiting for an introduction.

“Boris Sen,” he said, clasping his hands together and

holding them stiffl y just below his waist, like they were errant
children who might bolt around the room touching things
inappropriately. But even in this position, the fi ngers of his
right hand managed to worry the ring on his left. His focus was
exclusively on Jindor. Torri might as well have been one of the
faded tapestries, the impression she made on him.

“Sen Holdings,” Jindor said with a hint of breathiness.

“How wonderful of you to come. Evoran was most gracious in
his descriptions of your fi ne textiles.”

Evoran had said no such thing, but Torri approved of

Jindor’s lie.

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102

Boris appeared puzzled for a moment but he recovered

quickly. “How kind of him,” he responded. Was that a bit
sarcastic? Torri studied him with greater interest.

“Tell me, Holder—”
“Please, Priestess, call me Boris.”
Torri suppressed an eye roll. Had Jindor’s magic worked

that fast? He seemed a solid, sensible fellow even if he did bear
a passing resemblance to Earth’s Moon.

“Very well. Tell me, Boris,” and in Jindor’s voice, with her

infl ections, his name sounded like the silk he wore, “how long
has Sen been engaged in textile manufacture?”

“A long time,” he said, dropping his eyes in what looked

like genuine modesty. “Since the Reorganization. Things have
been diffi cult at times throughout our history, but we have
persevered.”

For him and millions of others, Torri thought. The Reorga-

nization wasn’t any light jaunt along a beach, after the last of
the Old Earth governments had collapsed, spelling the end of
the Administration. Some families were able to build dynasties
out of the wreckage of the past, and others fed on memories
and opportunities until they, too, disintegrated into history. Her
father’s family had emerged from the Reorganization, as well,
but split into different factions. Whatever was left of him and
his attempt to begin his own legacy might have ended in the
Collapse. Or perhaps he, too, bought favor with the Coalition.
She never wanted to fi nd out.

“I’m happy to hear that,” Jindor was saying. “May I offer

a blessing to you in wishes that Sen continues with its fi ne
traditions?”

He smiled, and the gesture showed fi ne, straight teeth that

couldn’t have been the ones with which he started his life. “If it
would please the Priestess, Sen Holdings would be honored.”

Jindor took his left hand in hers—she practically had to pry

his fi ngers apart—and offered a standard blessing statement
for Sen’s holdings, livelihood, and family. She added a fl ourish
at the end, with “may Cyllea guide Sen Holdings down proper

A Matter of Blood

103

paths for the greatest good,” after which she released his hand
as gently as she’d taken it.

Boris stared at her with the wide-eyed expression Jindor

cultivated so skillfully. He opened his mouth to speak, then
closed it, shaking his head, as if mere words would sully this
moment.

“Boris, you suspicious old slag, how good of you to join

my gathering,” Evoran boomed as he maneuvered around the
table, arms gesturing expansively.

“My thanks for the invitation, Evoran,” Boris responded

with a tone that implied he clearly hadn’t expected one, and he
wouldn’t have been put out had one not come. Torri watched the
two, gauging the relationship between them. Evoran squeezed
both of Boris’s shoulders in a show of comradeship, but from
Boris’s expression, it was a gesture laden with falsity. A
performance, almost. But for whom?

“I wouldn’t think of excluding my neighbors from an event

as momentous as this. It’s not often we have a priestess on
hand to offer blessings—such things are too few these days,”
he fi nished with exaggerated self-sympathy. Torri studied his
face, seeing none of the physiological signs of too much drink
that he’d exhibited the previous night. “Priestess,” he said,
turning to Jindor. “Has Boris here been talking your ear off?
Best keep the other one covered.”

“Not at all. I was just going to ask Holder Sen about his

latest fabrics and dyes. Temples are always interested
in local sources for products. Such a good arrangement, don’t
you think?” She raised an eyebrow at Boris.

“I . . . I would think so, Priestess.”
“After all, if a temple invests in local economies, then it

helps cultivate stronger ties between temples and communities.
And perhaps stronger ties within those communities. It’s a
project Oiros is investigating.”

Evoran’s eyes narrowed in thought. “What would a temple

expect in return?”

“Quality products easy to acquire on short notice. And

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104

learning more about the communities in the geographic
regions they serve. I would hope, Holder Evoran, that you
would not be adverse were I to inform Oiros administration
about your fi ne wines, for example. Oiros provides a venue
for many different social functions, and Ansi wines would, I
think, please discerning and diverse palates.” Jindor smiled
at him, and Torri again wondered about Jindor’s past, and her
abilities to play whatever part was required of her. How many
faces did she have? And which one was real?

“That would offer more opportunities for promotion,” Boris

said. “And might help bypass certain . . . restrictions in the
area. A shipment to Oiros, after all, doesn’t require offworld
permits.” He pursed his lips, already too prim for a man with
a face as wide as his. “But with current conditions, such a
shipment would require some form of permitting beyond the
usual.”

“Current conditions?” Jindor pretended confusion. “Oh,

you’re referring to the extra security measures in place.” She
didn’t mention the Coalition by name, and Torri knew she was
casting a net to see what sorts of things she might pull in.

“That business at Tinsdale’s got us all locked down in Vegas

Sector,” Boris said, a hint of exasperation in his words.
“Business has slowed.”

“Then you’re just not making the right connections.”

Evoran smiled at him, but Torri saw nothing genuine in it.
Especially since Evoran himself had so recently complained
about the same thing to her and Jindor. He was baiting Boris,
or at least chiding him. Boris might not have fully supported
Coalition incursions here, but there was nothing unusual about
that, since most producers and merchants chafed at Coalition
watchdogging.

“Perhaps not,” Boris said with a shrug. “But there’s

something to be said for the company I’ve decided to keep.
Sen’s weathered much worse, after all.”

So this moon kept its own orbit, Torri thought. Was he

anti-Coalition on principle, or merely being pragmatic as

A Matter of Blood

105

circumstances warranted? From her experiences in the decade
since the Collapse, most humanoids in all quadrants kept their
mouths shut about current policies and most engaged in
cautious practicality when it came to dealings with the
Coalition. Torri knew supporters and lackeys existed, but the
Coalition’s rise to power was too recent, in some ways, to have
built up a lasting foundation of support. But if what she’d seen
in the few years it had run intergalactic affairs was an
indication of what the future held, she doubted the Coalition
would ever have that base. Ruling by fear was effective in the
short term, and ruthless governance could ensure years—
decades, even—of control. But fear spawns hatred and hatred
drives rebellions. A merchant pilot had told her that, years ago,
in a bar just before the Collapse. She hoped it was prophetic.

“But how much longer can it sustain itself with your

policies?” Evoran snapped at Boris.

“And what policies would those be, Holder?” Boris’s

expression was remarkably bland but his tone issued both
a challenge and a rebuke. Torri moved closer to Jindor, her
left hand resting on the pommel of her dirk. Boris fully faced
Evoran now. “A refusal to involve my holdings in political
machinations that have nothing to do with me? I have a
business to run. Inventories to meet. Shipments to send. I’m
not interested in the games small men play for scraps from
Coalition tables.”

Evoran’s face purpled and a vein at his right temple throbbed

against his skin in such a way that Torri half-expected it to
explode in a most unseemly fashion. Now that would prove
messy. She glanced at Saryl, some twenty feet away, still near
the table. She could hear the exchange because Torri’s
commlink was open. Saryl caught Torri’s eye, a silent
acknowledgement that she was observing.

“Cyllea knows that we all do the best we can with whatever

circumstances we’re offered,” Jindor said in an attempt to shift
the winds of the brewing storm between the two men. “Even
in disagreements are the roots of discourse. Holder Sen, may

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106

I interest you in one of the fi ne Ansi wines?” She took a step
toward the table, Torri right next to her.

“Don’t trouble yourself, Priestess,” Evoran interrupted, and

his charm supplanted the moment of anger. “Allow me.” He
took her empty goblet, turned his back on Boris, and strode to
the table.

“May I apologize?” Boris asked, contrite. “Evoran and I

have a long history together but sometimes we don’t agree on
things.”

There’s an understatement. Torri adjusted her stance to

relieve a cramp in her right calf. She wasn’t used to standing
for such long stretches of time.

“Priestess,” Evoran said upon his return. “If I may take your

leave?” He handed her a goblet.

Jindor smiled. “Certainly. You have many guests.”
Evoran half-bowed and strode away again. He had ignored

Boris. Jindor handed the goblet to Torri, who checked it and its
contents for poisons or anything else untoward. She handed it
back to Jindor. Boris seemed not to have noticed the exchange.

“It’s my experience,” Jindor said to Boris, “that it’s rare for

any one person to agree all the time with any other. But tell me,
has it been so diffi cult shipping your products offworld?”

“Only recently. Whatever the Coalition is doing at Tinsdale,

it’s entered a new phase, and security has tightened. I have
spoken to Kaivan—the Tinsdale holder—and he is trying to
get those restrictions loosened for outgoing shipments from
this sector’s holdings.” He toyed with his ring again.

“Well, perhaps he’ll be successful. I’ll make sure to issue a

blessing upon my return to Oiros.”

“I hope he is. Kaivan’s a good sort, but can’t say I envy him

his position over there. It’s a bit disruptive of business as usual
to have military offi cials crawling all over your livelihood.”

“But we have managed to keep them out of the tea fi elds,”

said a newcomer whose deep blue sari coiled around her body
like a colorful snake. Her hair, the color of rich, dark honey,
cascaded to her shoulders, held out of her face by a plain silver

A Matter of Blood

107

diadem. She smiled, and the effect was like sunlight. “Boris.
How are you? Father sends his regards.” She raised her glass
in a toast to him.

“The same to him,” Boris said, beaming.
To Jindor, she said, “Meli Tinsdale. I’m guessing you’re

Priestess Othne. Welcome to Vegas Sector.”

“Fuck us all,” came Saryl’s voice in Torri’s skull over the

commlink. “You want a diversion?”

Torri shook her head once, as if alleviating a slight crick

in her neck. The best way to play this was to pretend she
had never met Meli. As perceptive as Meli was, Torri doubted
she’d recognize her. It had been over ten years, after all, and
she was disguised as Radij.

“My thanks . . .” Jindor raised an eyebrow in question.
“Just Meli. How are you fi nding our little corner of the

province?”

“Lovely. I confess it is my fi rst visit and I regret that. I hope

to return, but on less offi cial business so that I might perhaps
explore a bit.”

“And would a priestess require a bodyguard in a less formal

venture like that?” Meli sipped from her glass and studied Torri
over its rim. Torri willed herself not to move or look away from
Meli’s gaze.

“Sadly, I’m afraid so. One would think that a servant of

Cyllea might appeal to everyone’s inherent good will, but
sometimes, it’s not so. This is my guardian, Shar n’Morif,”
Jindor said, stepping aside to present Torri to Meli.

“I’m honored,” Torri said in Empire, exaggerating a

Southern Edge accent.

“As am I,” Meli replied. “If I may be so direct, it’s a

surprise to see someone Radij here.”

For the fi rst time, Boris seemed to notice Torri, though in

a cursory way, like he might notice a new piece of furniture.
“Priestess, Meli—pardon my interruption. Your leave, if I
may,” he said, apologetically, and as formally as Empire would
allow.

Andi Marquette

108

“Chasing a business deal, are you?” Meli raised her

eyebrows suggestively.

“Such as business is these days.” He smiled. “I do need

to speak with your father at some point. Could you pass that
along?”

“Indeed I will. Well met, Boris.”
“And to you.” He smiled at her then addressed Jindor.

“Priestess, a thousand thanks. May your journey home be
safe.”

“Thank you. It was a pleasure.”
Boris nodded and moved away. Torri watched him until

he was swallowed by a group near one of the entrances. She
wanted to see if he had left, but to do so would require her to
move away from Jindor so she could get a better angle of sight.
She instead remained in her position.

“At any rate—” Meli picked up where she’d left off with

Torri, “how are you fi nding Vegas Sector?”

“Quite hospitable,” she said.
“Yes, well, Evoran can be that, when he puts his mind to

it,” Meli said with the humor Torri remembered from her visits
here, years ago. It pained her, because she could never engage
it, could never ask Meli about Kai. That would put Torri and
Kai at risk, and perhaps the entire Tinsdale family. “How long
are you planning to stay?” Meli asked Jindor, though she kept
her focus on Torri.

“I believe we’re leaving tomorrow, though the merchants

who brought us here will make a stop at Burnside to deliver a
load of spices.”

“Too bad. We are known for our teas, and I think my father

would be pleased to send some to Oiros, as a good will
offering.” She turned her attention to Jindor then, but Torri
sensed she hadn’t fi nished with her yet.

“You are too kind. I’ll discuss it with the merchants.

Perhaps they’d be interested in purchasing a shipment of
Tinsdale tea. They have many clients, and I’m sure that item is
always welcome.”

A Matter of Blood

109

“Though I see you sully your tastes with Ansi wine.” Meli

smiled mischievously and motioned at Jindor’s goblet.

“Only after thrilling them with a much larger glass of

Danton tea which, the staff assured me, was a Tinsdale blend.”
She smiled back and raised her glass in a toast.

Meli laughed in appreciation. Torri remembered Meli over

a decade ago, when she’d tease Kai in a similar fashion, and
Kai would tease back, much to Torri’s astonishment. Her bunk-
mate had always seemed stiff and aloof at the Academy, but
here, on home turf, she’d shown a different side. Torri had seen
fl ashes of it, but never in full force and she knew, after that fi rst
visit to Tinsdale Holdings, that Kai’s hold on her heart was
permanent.

“I’m curious,” Meli continued. “Does Oiros prefer Radij

guardians over non-Radij?”

Torri pinged Saryl. This might be a good time for an

interruption. Meli was too inquisitive, and they simply could
not take the chance that she wouldn’t eventually recognize
her.

Jindor appeared to think a moment before answering. “It’s

not an offi cial policy, but yes, those Radij who wish to serve
Cyllea as such will fi nd a warm welcome at Oiros.”

“I can’t imagine that many Radij are able to leave the

homelands. How many does Oiros employ?” Meli spoke to
Jindor, but she stared at Torri, as if she wanted to extend an
invitation for Torri to engage her, something Torri could not
afford to do.

“Ten, including Shar. Oiros has been fortunate. The first

Radij guardian there informed her network that Oiros welcomes
them. A few more thus chose to offer their services.”

Meli took a sip from her goblet. “I’ve been told that Radij

who leave the homelands cannot return.” This time, the
expression in her eyes was one of challenge. She was trying to
force Torri into this conversation.

Jindor, once again. “Socially, it’s diffi cult. But physiologi-

cally, the Radij who leave can return and suffer no ill effects.

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110

Just because the parasite didn’t take doesn’t doom them to a
life offworld.”

“Has this parasite ever left Sentinel? Alive?”
Jindor started to answer again but Meli stopped her.
“Please, I would like to hear Guardian n’Morif’s opinion

on that.”

Jindor conceded and moved so that she, too, could look at

Torri.

“I am not aware of such an occurrence,” Torri said. “It

cannot survive outside the environment of the homelands, nor
can it survive transport.”

“Which, I am made to understand, is probably a good thing,

since its introduction is fatal to quite a few humanoid species.
Or have I heard wrong?”

“You have not.” Torri knew that Jindor’s eyes bored into

the side of her head, but Meli didn’t seem to notice. Where the
fuck was Saryl?

“Tell me,” Meli said, with a softer tone now, “would the

Radij approve if the parasite left Sentinel?”

“None that I know would approve of such a thing,” Torri

said, thickening her accent to emphasize what she hoped was
convincing indignation. “And none of the elders in my family
lines would ever condone it.”

“Comforting,” Meli responded with what might have been

a bit of sarcasm, but Torri wasn’t sure, and at the moment, she
didn’t care because Saryl was but a few paces away. Thank
Cyllea.

“Excuse me,” Saryl said to Meli. “I need the priestess’s ear

for a moment.”

“Certainly.” Jindor handed her goblet to Torri. “Birrit Cansi,

captain of the merchant vessel that was able to bring me to
Ansi on such short notice. This is Meli Tinsdale.”

“Well met.” Saryl acknowledged the introduction with a

nod.

“And to you. It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance,

Priestess. In the future, should you fi nd yourself in Vegas

A Matter of Blood

111

Sector again, you and your guardian are welcome at Tinsdale
Holdings.”

“Your hospitality is greatly appreciated,” Jindor said. “You

honor me with such an invitation.”

Meli smiled and looked again at Torri. “My apologies if my

questions were too forward. I meant no disrespect.”

“None taken.”
“Safe journey to you. These days, it’s always a good idea

to take extra precautions.” Meli’s infl ection carried a warning
beneath the well-wishes, but her eyes betrayed nothing.
“Priestess, are you fi nished with your wine?”

“I am.”
“Then I’ll gladly take care of it for you.” And she took the

goblet from Torri’s hand. “Well met to you all.” She moved
away, and the crowd swallowed her. She was Jindor’s height,
and therefore not easy to fi nd in a crowd, but Torri stared after
her for a few moments anyway. What did her warning mean?
Had she recognized her after all, and she was simply reiterating
Coalition presence? Or had she been fooled by the disguise,
and she was warning her about something that had to do with
her identity as Radij? Her intuition nudged her. Something
about the Radij. But all she had at the moment were pieces that
didn’t fi t together. Not yet.

“We’re ready to leave tomorrow morning,” Saryl said.

“Burnside is expecting us either then or later. I’ve arranged
a twenty-four-hour clearance with him and fi led with local
Coalition authorities. We’re approved for take-off and for
unescorted travel to Burnside.”

“Excellent,” Jindor said. “Evoran has graciously insisted

that Shar and I stay one more night within Ansi. Shall we say
an eight o’ clock departure?”

“Dal will meet you. Should you require anything further,

comm me. Otherwise, I’ll see you both tomorrow.”

“Thank you.”
Saryl left, but her height made it easy for Torri to track her

until she left through the main entrance. Once Saryl was no

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112

longer visible, her voice echoed through Torri’s commlink.
“Keep an eye on Evor. He’s been talking to Coalition. Dal’s
almost got a clonelink through the Ansi neurosystems, if we
need it. Out.”

Torri sucked air between her teeth and scanned the crowd

for Evor, but she didn’t see him.

“I’m rather tired. I’d like to fi nd Evoran and make our

excuses,” Jindor said in Southern Edge.

“As you wish,” Torri responded, maintaining decorum.
“You know, for my guardian, you’re not much fun.” Jindor

shot her a look that was half-pouty, half-teasing.

“I imagine not, given the circumstances. Shall we?” Torri

motioned toward a group of people where Evoran was holding
court. Jindor hid a smile behind her hand and swept toward
the holder, her gown moving with her body and attracting the
attention of every onlooker she passed, including, to Torri’s
amusement, Meli’s, though she quickly returned her gaze to
the group with which she was engaged, thankfully ignoring
Torri. Probably being a little too paranoid, Torri thought, as she
eased through a knot of people.

Jindor made their excuses to Evoran in a way that left him

practically drooling, and they departed with the staff member
he instructed to accompany them to their quarters. On the way,
Torri mulled the evening. She was uncertain what Meli knew,
and what specifically she was trying to communicate,
if anything. Evoran was most likely not an issue tonight and
probably tomorrow morning. He had been drinking, from what
she could tell. Evor, on the other hand, might be a problem,
given his earlier conversation with a Coalition offi cial and
Saryl’s observations of such.

They arrived at their quarters, and once again, Torri checked

before she allowed Jindor to enter. She activated the jammers
as soon as she closed and locked the door. She and Jindor needed
to talk a bit about the evening, and about Evor. Certainly, he
could have just been conducting hold business. The Coalition
had offi cials and military stationed near Tinsdale, after all, and

A Matter of Blood

113

they no doubt ran routine security checks at neighboring
holdings, and Evoran probably wanted a semblance of trans-
parency with them. Whatever Evor had been doing, it might
have had nothing to do with any of them. But she doubted it.

Kai stared at the vidscreen, which relayed information from

a series of cameras positioned around a one-acre plot in the
unclaimed territory. Here, in the lab facilities that the Coalition
had constructed in accordance with their latest project, they
were protected from contamination even though they were
located within the area’s boundaries. She’d been here since after
breakfast, touring the nerve center of the latest Coalition plot.
And Meli, meanwhile, was making nice at Evoran’s
gathering. Given the choice, Kai would have preferred sitting
through religious rituals and engaging in mundane chatter with
people she either didn’t know, hadn’t seen in a while, and
probably would not see again. Anything but more time spent
with Andris Sorreth and Coalition machinations.

“There. Do you see?” Sorreth pointed at the upper right

corner of the screen. “Show me that area,” he said over his
shoulder to Bal. She made the appropriate adjustment at her
control panel, and the area of the screen at which he had
pointed enlarged. “Yes. There’s one.”

Kai studied the object, and as she did so, Bal brought it

front and center. A worm-like creature, light gray in color. It
moved sluggishly across the screen.

“It’ll live about forty-eight hours,” Sorreth said. “Quite a feat,

considering no one prior to this has ever been able to cultivate them
off Sentinel.” For once, his voice didn’t carry the smugness that had
marked most of his pronouncements during the past three hours.

A Matter of Blood

115

“Why doesn’t it live longer?” Kai asked, not taking her eyes

from the screen. The worm itself, she had been told, was barely
two millimeters in length at this stage of its development. But
on the screen, it looked much larger. Hundreds of cilia moved
like seaweed in an ocean as it propelled itself over the soil. It
looked like a maggot with legs, she thought, but that didn’t
repulse her. What horrifi ed her—though she’d never show
it—was that the Coalition was actually designing a biological
weapon not forty miles from the northern edge of her family’s
holdings. Diabolical. And so arrogant, to presume that something
like this could be contained. Hadn’t history demonstrated that
containment was only temporary?

“We don’t have the soil composition just right,” Sorreth

said in response to her question. “We have two samples, barely
enough to line your palm. So we must be sparing with our
analyses, some of which require degradation.”

“How can something like this survive in that environment?”

She turned then to address him directly. The unclaimed territory
had toxicity levels so high that even skirting it without protection
resulted in illness and, in some cases, death. So far, Tinsdale had
remained untainted, but her father had erected cleaners at fi ve
hundred yard intervals fi ve miles from the southernmost reach of
the unclaimed territory. The line of cleaners stretched for nearly
thirty miles west to east, squat tan-colored orbs that blended into
the landscape. She and Meli had learned as very young children
to stay well south of them.

“It’s evolved for that. It adapted to the soils on Sentinel,

which have extremely high levels of elements that are, in
certain combination, toxic here on Earth. That’s why the Radij
don’t venture into the area much, except to harvest the parasite
for their rituals.”

Kai didn’t respond right away. She looked again at the

screen, but the worm had disappeared. “How many?”

“At last count, fi fteen. But we’ve got twenty more in the

lab.” He gestured with his chin toward the door, which would
take them down a corridor to the highest security lab. “We’re

Andi Marquette

116

testing them in various soil combinations. The composition of
the unclaimed territory is proving a much better match for its
home environment than we thought possible.”

“How did you get them here? I had thought that even

frozen, in samples of their home soil, they don’t survive
travel.”

“They don’t.” Here, Sorreth’s tone was smug again. “And

their genetic material degrades quickly once off Sentinel,
regardless of how it’s transported. It’s been extremely diffi cult
to circumvent. So we tried something else.”

Kai looked at him again, both interested in and dreading his

answer.

“We used a host.”
“The Radij with the parasite can’t leave Sentinel, either.”
“No. But their blood can. And it proved a much better way

to get the parasite here.”

Kai folded her arms. “How did you get samples?” And do I

really want to know? Her gut tightened with dread.

“I knew you’d be interested,” Sorreth practically chortled.

“The Radij are in confl ict with the Varsian rulers along the
far edges of the homelands. The Varsians take prisoners in
skirmishes.” He shrugged, and Kai stared at him, struggling
to keep her disgust from showing. One of the worst things that
could happen to a Radij, she knew from her dealings with the
few who didn’t carry the parasite, was to lose blood in
any circumstances except injury, war, or death. Taking a blood
sample from a Radij was a supreme insult, a humiliation with
such deep cultural taboos that many Radij chose exile rather
than face their families and extended networks. Some even
chose death. A Radij’s blood was sacred, because it carried a
sacred life form, and it was that reason, too, that ensured that so
little was known about them medically and biologically.

“The Radij hosts we used had been condemned to death

as prisoners-of-war. The samples were taken before those
executions,” Sorreth said, as if he had read her mind, and as if
he were trying to placate her.

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117

“Is that not a violation of the Cultural Autonomy Directive?

Even if the prisoners were condemned?” she asked, keeping
her tone as level as she could, given her building anger.

“The Directive can be suspended in times of war.”
“But only after a hearing with the High Council and the

ambassadors from the warring nations. The Coalition has not
declared war on the Radij or the Varsian rulers on Sentinel.
It is, therefore, not a warring nation or entity under these
circumstances.” She let the rest of her statement, “and thus in
violation of the Directive,” remain unspoken. She would not
voice opposition to a Coalition policy here. Not with this man,
whose loyalties followed whatever whim would benefi t him
most.

“Ah, but the Coalition did not formally request the blood

samples. Those were . . . acquired via a third party, who bought
them from the Varsians. But I’m pleased that you are aware of
formal policies that the Coalition had chosen to maintain.” He
smiled at her, as if he were speaking to a rookie trainee. But
he was also giving her an out, a chance to back away from any
further accusations. She took it.

“There are records of this transaction?”
“Of course. We would not pursue such a project as this

without defi nitive proof of something as important as that.” He
waved a hand. “We have been granted a full research permit,
for the period of one Earth year, though we may apply for an
extension after outside review. I have a feeling we’ll get it.
Don’t you?” He smiled again, and his eyes seemed to twinkle,
as if it were a great joke, this attempt to create a parasite that,
when injected into a non-Radij host, could kill it within six
hours. Kai swallowed, trying to stave off rising bile.

“I’m sure you, too, are imagining the possibilities. If we

can develop a more effective way than what we’ve got so far
to fi re a parasite at an enemy—and most humanoid species, as
you know, cannot survive an incursion from this particular life
form—we’ll possibly be able to put a stop to all uprisings. Even
the threat of uprisings. A peaceful world, don’t you think?”

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118

Kai looked again at the vidscreen, but all it showed was

reddish-brown dirt, the color of old wounds. Did Sorreth then
have an injector prototype? “You said that the Coalition
acquired the blood through a third party. What will ensure that
this particular weapon remains in the control of the Coalition?
And how can you be sure that there aren’t other samples out
there, with other research facilities that have no connection to
the Coalition?”

“Very good, Commander. And that’s the reason I worked so

hard to get you on this project.”

“I would have thought my involvement was obvious, given

that the Coalition is using my family’s holdings.”

“Not necessarily. That helps, of course, but if you were as

incompetent as many military offi cers are, I would have worked
very hard to keep you off this project. As it stands, your
experience with smuggling rings plays in your favor here.” He
crossed his arms and beamed at her. “It’s why I’m going to put
you in charge of fi nding other parties who may be doing just
what you expressed—buying blood samples from the Varsians
on Sentinel.”

Kai clenched her teeth.
“Obviously, we can’t have others engaged in this sort of

work. Especially not like-minds. We can’t have attacks on
humanoid Coalition offi cials involving this bioweapon.
Imagine the havoc. Worse than the Collapse.” He shook his
head, as if sad, but Kai didn’t believe the sentiment behind
the gesture. Worse than the Collapse? Millions had suffered
in that, untold thousands had died. And thousands more, like
Torri, had no doubt disappeared, living twilight existences
between past and present.

“You’ll be paid very well. And I’ll put in a personal word

for a promotion. This, my dear commander, is the assignment
of a lifetime. You won’t regret it.”

I already do. Kai held his gaze until he looked away fi rst,

toward Bal. “Call up Commander Tinsdale’s orders, please.
We’re going to make her have fun whether she wants to or not.

A Matter of Blood

119

Oh, and bring up the communication from Captain Hyasin.
Include that in the commander’s packet.” To Kai, he said,
“Hyasin is in attendance at a gathering at Ansi Holdings
today. I’m sure you’re aware of it, since a formal invitation
was extended to Tinsdale, as well. I believe your sister is also
in attendance as we speak. Something about a priestess
of Cyllea performing various blessings.” He waved his hand
again, dismissing that aspect of the comm. “The priestess
employs a guardian who is Radij. That’s what we’re interested
in. We’re arranging a visit from the priestess with Tinsdale for
tomorrow. If that’s not too much of an inconvenience.” Even
in the fl at, colorless tones of Coalition, Kai knew it was not her
decision to make nor was it her father’s. She swallowed her
disgust and anger again.

“Certainly, Major,” she said with great effort. “A servant of

the goddess is always welcome.”

“I’m sure,” he said with a touch of impatience. “The

goddess can have her servant. It’s the guardian of said
servant that interests us. Clearly, the parasite didn’t take with
her. Which implies that this particular Radij—who bears the
scars of her culture and thus was clearly born in the home-
lands—must have some kind of genetic mutation that renders
her immune to the parasite. I’m sure you can see where I’m
leading you.” He didn’t wait for her to respond, and instead
continued lecturing. “For every bioweapon we develop, it’s
always a good idea to have an antidote. Protection, you know.”
He gave her a sidelong glance. “You will accompany Captain
Hyasin and Lieutenant Bal to Ansi tomorrow afternoon to
escort the priestess and her guardian back to Tinsdale.”

Kai nodded once, brusque, her stomach clenched in painful,

angry knots.

“Don’t worry, Commander. We’ll make sure that, in

accordance with the Cultural Autonomy Directive, we receive
permission from the Radij guardian to extract a blood sample.”
He grinned at her, and Kai placed her hands on her hips, if only
to keep herself from wrapping them around his sanctimonious

Andi Marquette

120

throat. They’d never get permission from a Radij for that. So
Sorreth and whatever other Coalition flunkies under his
command would manufacture an attempted escape, or some
other scenario in which the Radij guardian was made to look
like a threat. And they’d sedate her and take the sample
as Standard Medical Procedure, which, in some cases, could
trump the Directive. And then they’d probably dump her in the
unclaimed territory, where she’d die within a day. Kai felt sick.

“My thanks for your attention,” Sorreth said, without a trace

of sarcasm. “Dismissed, Commander. I’ll see you tomorrow
afternoon.” He took the commdisk that Bal held out to him and
handed it to Kai. “Your instructions with regard to retrieving the
priestess and the guardian. There’s no need to notify the temple
just yet. We’ll take care of that once we get the sample.”

Kai held the disc, no larger than her thumbnail, and slid it

into the comm unit on her left wrist, fi ghting an urge to drop it
on the fl oor and crush it beneath her boot.

“Bal, please accompany the commander back to Tinsdale.”

And with that, Sorreth left the room.

“Commander?” Bal entreated her, seeking permission to

escort her. She looked almost sorry about what had transpired.

Kai motioned for Bal to precede her through the door.

“How much does Father know about what the Coalition is

doing?” Kai sat in one of the chairs at the table in their father’s
study. She’d opened the shutters but sealed the windows, in
order to ensure that the jammers worked effectively.

“Probably most, though he’s very good with denial.” Meli

toyed with the jewel at her throat, an old habit. It might have
been a ruby, but Kai wasn’t sure.

“Does Vano know?”
Meli shook her head, and a strand of her hair got caught

in one of the links of the necklace’s chain. She freed it and
continued worrying the jewel. “I don’t think so.” She sat to
Kai’s right, at the head of the table.

A Matter of Blood

121

“Or is he keeping his own council? You know how he is. He

might know more than he lets on.”

“He might, but I doubt it. He’s been too involved lusting

after Liyah, and spending more time at Ansi.”

Kai made a face. “I can’t imagine she welcomes his

attentions.” The thought made her twinge, and she refl exively
clenched a fi st. She should have found a way to hobble him all
those years ago, when he’d fi nd her alone and press against her,
his fi ngers grabbing and prodding, seeking entry, which they
fortunately never got. Kai had learned early on ways to defend
herself against him, but he kept trying, up until her fi fteenth
year, when he tried once more, in the hangar. He didn’t see the
shocker in her hand. She used it, rammed it against the bulge
in his pants. He’d left her alone then, but she still sometimes
wished she’d permanently maimed him. Perhaps even killed
him. Meli’s voice brought her back to the present.

“She doesn’t. But Evoran does.”
Kai focused. “Ah. Evoran wants a piece of Tinsdale and

favor with the Coalition. No wonder he pushes for this union.
Tell me, dear sister, who Liyah truly favors?”

Meli tilted her head to the left and frowned, a gesture that

made her look twenty years younger. “I don’t know. She was at
the gathering today, but in the company of several people who
could be potential bondmates.”

“Was Vano there?”
Meli thought for a moment. “No. At least, I didn’t see him.

There weren’t so many that I wouldn’t have noticed him,
either. Besides, the invitation went to Father, and he
specifically passed it on to me. It’s possible Evoran sent Vano
a personal message, but if that were the case, Vano would have
been there.”

Kai half-laughed and drummed her fi ngers on the table.

“Maybe Father isn’t as uninvolved as he pretends to be. He
may have intercepted the comm, since I doubt Liyah has
provided Vano a personal link. You mentioned Father neither
supports nor condones the match.”

Andi Marquette

122

“He’s careful. He knows Evoran wants the match, but you

know how Father feels about Ansi.”

“So he keeps quiet on either count.”
Meli took a sip of tea from her glass before answering.

“And perhaps does a little bit of sabotage behind all our backs.
Mother wasn’t the only one good at that.”

Kai raised her own glass in a toast. “To Mother. For passing

along her information-fi nding genes to her daughter, Meli, and
her love of secret sabotage to Father.”

Meli toasted back. “Sometimes, Vano astounds me with his

lack of common sense. Tarkin once told me that he’d not met
a man who couldn’t fi nd parts of his own anatomy without a
locator.”

Kai snorted as she set her glass on the table. “He’s not even

close to being as good as you at fi nding information.”

“Is it so surprising? Look at him.”
“I try not to.”
Meli smiled. “Hard to believe he’s related to us.”
“I like to think he’s not, and instead is the result of one of

Stanni’s trysts.” She grimaced at mention of their father’s fi rst
bondmate. “Vano looks nothing like Father or either of us.”

“Just as well. And if so, Father’s kindness may have

backfi red.”

It would, Kai thought, be something Kaivan might do—take

in a child upon the death of a parent. Just a coincidence that
the parent was Kaivan’s bondmate at the time. He had never
claimed Vano was not his child, but more and more, she
suspected that Vano was not related to him. Just as well,
indeed. She loathed Vano more than she had ever voiced to
Meli. “So. What are your thoughts with regard to what’s going
on in the unclaimed territory?”

“I’ve suspected for a while that there was some kind of

bioweapons experimentation with a parasite, but a Coalition
soldier confi rmed it to me, last week.”

Kai raised her eyebrows at Meli, waiting for more.
“He also confi rmed that Sorreth was keen on Radij culture.”

A Matter of Blood

123

“This soldier volunteered all that information to you?

Clearly, he wasn’t doing his duty,” Kai said, teasing Meli about
her sexual appetites.

“Oh, he was. Several times over the course of an evening.”

She grinned at Kai. “It’s amazing, the things you fi nd out in
certain contexts.” Meli took a sip of tea from her glass.
“Especially the horizontal ones.”

Kai laughed and poured herself a glass of tea before she

leaned back in her chair and regarded Meli for a moment. “And
did your soldier volunteer any information about a weapon
prototype? One that might be used to, say, fi re the parasite into
a target?”

Meli lowered her glass. “Not specifi cally. He did, however,

say that Sorreth seemed interested in modifying pistols. The
kind that are easy to obtain and easy to fi x.” She furrowed her
brow. “Perhaps Sorreth is working on something like that.”

Kai pursed her lips. “I don’t know how to proceed here. I

want nothing to do with this. And I want these slags off our
holdings.” She longed to punch the smile off Sorreth’s face.

“As we both do. Father, as well, though he’d never say as

much, even privately. But think of it this way. If they weren’t
here, they’d be somewhere else, doing the same thing.”

Kai looked at her, puzzled. “I’m not following.”
She raised a shoulder and affected an innocent air. “They’re

here, not elsewhere. Which means we have access to what
they’re doing.” She looked at Kai meaningfully.

“Ah,” Kai said, catching on. “And the unclaimed territory

is notoriously unstable, chemical-wise. Anything could cause
an explosion or two.”

“Anything,” Meli agreed, with exaggerated solemnity. “In

fact, one occurred last week. Sorreth had to evacuate the
facility for two days.”

“But how to make sure that this area is just not worth their

while to continue further experimentation? An explosion is a
setback. Not an end.”

“True.” Meli reached for the pitcher and refi lled her glass.

Andi Marquette

124

“Perhaps more than one explosion, then, which unfortunately
destroys the parasites.”

“Terrible, ruining that research,” Kai said with mock sorrow.
“And one never knows . . . there might be buried artillery

out there, long forgotten. No one’s really been out there since
Fortunata. Explosions all the time.” She smiled at Kai. “There
must be a weakness with Sorreth. Everyone has them. We just
have to fi nd it.”

Kai looked at her appreciatively. “Why didn’t you enroll

in the Academy? That kind of thinking is exactly what our
instructors wanted of us.”

Meli set the pitcher down and turned it so its handle faced

Kai. “And wear those horribly boring uniforms?” She picked
up her glass. “Not my color.”

“No, you are far more attractive in bright, festive tones.”
“Thank you. I think so, as well.”
Kai dropped her gaze and stared thoughtfully at the table’s

surface. Her refl ection stared back, blurry. Wood softened
her edges as time hadn’t. “There’s more. It may affect how
this plays out.” She didn’t look up for a few moments, until
she realized Meli was waiting for her to continue. “I have to
go to Ansi tomorrow with Hyacin and Bal. The priestess and
her guardian are to be guests of Tinsdale.” She emphasized
“guests” with extra sarcasm.

Meli’s eyes narrowed. “What does Sorreth want with a

priestess?”

“He doesn’t.”
Meli’s elegant brows furrowed and then, comprehension

dawned. “He means to use her guardian?” Had her disbelief
and disgust not been conveyed in her words, they were clear
on her face.

“He wants a blood sample, because this Radij clearly

doesn’t have the parasite, or she wouldn’t have been able to
leave the homelands. He thinks there’s some kind of mutation
she may carry that could provide clues for an inoculation so the
Coalition can use the parasite to their own advantage and not

A Matter of Blood

125

worry about it being turned against them.” She ran both hands
through her hair and exhaled, anger again fi lling her chest. She
stood and paced around the room.

“Kai.”
“I want no part of this. None. I’ve played their game too

long, and look where it’s gotten me.” All her life, she’d worked
to prove she could be a soldier, one of the best. Her father’s
father hadn’t allowed Kaivan to attend the Academy, even
though it had been his dream. Kai’s grandfather had crushed it
out of him, and so Kaivan had remained at Tinsdale, but some
of him had died, like the relationship with his father. When
Kai was accepted to the Academy, it was both a victory and
defeat for him. Part of him was going to fulfi ll the dream, in
the form of his oldest daughter. But it wasn’t for him, and that,
Kai knew, still grated on him. She’d played by the rules as best
she could, excelled at every test they threw her way, became
the perfect soldier. The perfect fucking soldier. And now they
owned her, just as she’d told Torri in Newburg. They fucking
owned her.

“Listen to me,” Meli said with greater urgency.
Kai turned, and Meli was standing, as well. “The priestess’s

guardian doesn’t have a mutation.”

Kai stared at her. “What are you talking about? She’s Radij

and she’s not on Sentinel. She’s got the scars, she must have a
mutation.”

Meli came around the table and stood in front of Kai, her

eyes fi lled with worry and dismay. She took Kai’s hands in
hers. “She’s not Radij.”

What was Meli getting at? “I don’t understand.”
Meli tightened her grip on Kai’s hands. “I wasn’t going to

say anything, because I didn’t want to upset you, and I hoped
the priestess would be on her way soon.”

“Meli—”
“Listen for a moment. I wasn’t sure, at fi rst, and I haven’t

seen her in nearly ten years and I didn’t want you to get your
hopes up.” She looked as if she were going to cry.

Andi Marquette

126

“What are you talking about?”
“On my honor, and on our bond as sisters.” She leaned very

close, to Kai’s ear and said, very softly, “It’s Torri.”

Kai’s throat tightened, and she couldn’t breathe.

“Impossible.” She pulled her hands away from Meli’s. Torri?
In the company of a priestess at Ansi? No.

“I thought so, too,” Meli said, almost whispering. “But I

never forget anyone, and though the disguise is excellent, I
recognized her voice.”

“No.” Cyllea, no. What was Torri doing?
“I know her voice. She’s not dead. Kai, she’s not dead. I

didn’t want to cause you new pain, and I wasn’t sure whether
to tell you or not.” She didn’t fi nish the thought, and Kai knew
that Meli would have taken the secret to her death if she thought
it would have hurt her to know this information. But because of
these new circumstances, Meli had to tell her.

Kai stared at her feet, and her heart ached. Torri was here, in

Vegas Sector. She was barely twenty minutes away by fl oater.
Kai had never mentioned Torri to anyone after the battle at
Shanlin, even after Torri had contacted her a year later to let
her know that she wasn’t really dead, but to treat her as such,
because if the Coalition found out that she was in contact with a
known rebel, the punishment would be severe, and there would
be repercussions beyond it. Even knowing that, they’d shared
each other’s company twice since Shanlin, and both times she
swore to herself it was the last, though she knew it wasn’t.
She’d kept Torri’s secret for years. But now, she had to
compromise both Torri and herself. Torri’s life depended on it.
She groaned softly. “You’re right. She’s not.”

It was Meli’s turn to stare.
“Come on. Let’s take a walk.” Kai gestured toward the

door. This conversation was too dangerous to have indoors, no
matter how many jammers Meli had placed in their father’s
study. No, this conversation needed to be held outside, away
from the holdings. The desert kept her secrets, she had learned
years ago. She would add another tonight.

Torri jerked awake, an insistent pinging in her skull. Not

yet dawn, she noted, glancing at her wrist comm. “Birrit,” she
acknowledged in a low voice.

“We’ve just received orders from one Major Andris Sorreth,

stationed at Tinsdale. We are not granted a permit to leave
today. Possibly tomorrow.” Saryl tried to cover her alarm, but
Torri heard it.

“Did the major provide a reason?”
“Security concerns.”
“Has Evoran communicated with you?”
“No. Nothing from Ansi. Dal and I are on board, but we do

have some company stationed outside. Five, at last count, with
two armed fl oaters.”

Torri swung her legs over the side of the bed and pulled her

boots on. With her motion, the glow sockets increased light.
She had been sleeping fully clothed, out of habit when not on
the ship.

“That’s not very hospitable, is it?” she muttered as she

fi nished with her boots. She heard another sound and looked up
to fi nd Jindor standing in the doorway to the master bedroom,
wearing a blue sari. Torri held her index fi nger up, signaling
for her to wait.

“Afraid not,” Saryl said. “Ideas?”
“What are Sorreth’s orders?”
“We are to remain docked at Ansi until further instructions.”

Andi Marquette

128

“I’ll confer with the priestess. In the meantime, perhaps you

could check all the on-board systems and run a few tests. Make
sure Major Sorreth is who he says he is. Out.” Torri broke the
link. “Something’s wrong,” she said in Southern Edge to
Jindor even as she set the jammers on their highest frequency
with her wrist comm. They’d have to take their chances with
this conversation.

“So I gathered.”
“We’ve been ordered to stay an extra day, but it came from

Coalition at Tinsdale. Security issues.” She knew very well
this wasn’t about security. The Coalition knew something. Or
perhaps Evoran or Evor had said something that aroused
suspicions.

“I personally doubt very much that the Coalition requires

the blessing of a priestess.” Jindor stared into space for a
moment, thinking. “That’s not it.” She turned her gaze to Torri.
“The parasite. Slag it, Evoran and Meli all but told us what was
going on. The Coalition is attempting to create a bioweapon
out of a very specifi c parasite.”

Torri stared at her. “How is that possible? They can’t

survive the trip from Sentinel, not even encased in home soil.
A Radij infected with one can’t survive, either.” But she knew
she sounded unconvinced. Jindor was right. She had to be. The
pieces of the puzzle fell into place. The Coalition had found a
way to bring at least one parasite from Sentinel to Earth.

“This isn’t about security. And it’s not about me.” Jindor

exhaled. “Cyllea, they want you.”

“For what? Even if I were Radij, I’m clearly not carrying

the parasite, since I’m here.”

“For tests, perhaps. That’s the only thing that makes sense.

The Coalition doesn’t waste its time in the workings of temples.
I doubt they’ve even bothered to check the registry at Oiros.”

“Evor,” Torri muttered. He had been talking to that

Coalition offi cer. She kicked herself mentally. Why hadn’t she
sent Saryl last night to fi nd out more about the offi cer? She’d
slipped. Meli had rattled her. A costly mistake.

A Matter of Blood

129

“Maybe he and Evoran both. They seemed quite interested

in your heritage when we arrived.”

Torri spat a curse in Southern Edge. They had. She’d been

careless, and fi gured it was because Radij were rare in Vegas
Sector. She hadn’t made the connection even though Evoran all
but handed it to her. Meli’s behavior merely backed Evoran’s
drunken pronouncements. The most innocuous conversations
can reveal more than the deepest. She swore again, more
colorfully.

“As much as I appreciate your artistry with the dialect,”

Jindor said as she fl ashed her a wry smile, “how do you want
to play this?”

“We don’t know for sure they want any of us at Tinsdale,

and the orders didn’t say that you and I are confi ned to the
holdings.” Torri raced through several scenarios. If they walked
out, chances were they’d be able to get to the ship, at least, and
they might be able to make a run for it. They’d done it before.
Sorreth may have been relying on fear of the Coalition to keep
them from doing that. At least they might have more leverage
there, security detail notwithstanding. But to get to the ship,
they’d need to create another illusion. Jann might be able to do
it. Saryl said he’d been working on it. She commed him.

“Shar,” he acknowledged.
“It might prove helpful were there a little adjustment to the

Ansi body heat sensors.”

“Funny you should say that. I’ve just completed a circuitry

re-route that might prove useful.”

“Excellent. Particularly those in our temporary quarters.”
Jindor smiled again.

Torri carried the duffl e bag slung over her right shoulder as

she followed Jindor through the Ansi corridors. Jindor main-
tained a steady pace, no trace of agitation or hesitation in her
stride. She nodded at the staff members they passed, and most
nodded back, though none stopped them. Torri tracked their

Andi Marquette

130

progress on her wrist comm. They had twelve minutes to exit
Ansi holdings before Jann would remove the patch he’d sent
through the neurolines. The program he’d initiated through
it ensured that Ansi security readouts indicated that two
humanoids occupied the rooms Torri and Jindor had vacated
eight minutes earlier, based on body heat registries. He also
scrambled their biosignatures, so Ansi tracking couldn’t
readily identify them. Though Jann could. And if Jann felt he
had to remove the patch early, he’d ping them.

A staff member offered a friendly wave as he passed,

and Jindor responded in kind. We believe what we see, Torri
thought. A lesson she learned on her fi rst reconnaissance
mission. Hiding, she discovered, could be done openly, if one
had the confi dence to perform in accordance with someone’s
expectation or belief about one’s identity. “Cadet Rendego has
an innate and effective ability to assess a situation and adjust
her actions to address changes therein and ensure successful
outcomes. We thus recommend she be given more opportunities
in recon.” Kai had laughed about that when Torri told her the
results of her fi rst recon assignment. No surprise, she’d said.
After all, Torri had been sneaking out of the barracks a few
times a month to explore and bar-crawl. She’d always been
good at blending in.

Kai. Torri had to fi gure out how to get a message to Kai

about what the Coalition was doing at Tinsdale. She glanced at
her wrist comm again. Seven minutes. She relayed that softly
in Southern Edge, and Jindor increased her speed a bit. Two
minutes later, they entered the hangar. A lone staff member sat at
a control console, and from her body language, she was fi ghting
sleep, and sleep was winning. She looked up as they came in.

“Well met,” Jindor said in Empire, sounding tired.
“Priestess,” the staff member said, puzzled. “I’m sorry, but

I don’t have your schedule—” She pressed her palm on the
access panel, and Torri pinged Jann at the same time and opened
her commlink so he and Saryl could hear the exchange.

“You’re quite certain?” Jindor leaned against Torri, as if she

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131

needed a place to rest. “Premier Evor told us he would send the
clearance to the hangar.”

“No, I haven’t received anything like that.” The staff

member looked at Torri then Jindor, nervous.

“The Priestess is not feeling well,” Torri said. “Yesterday’s

blessing rituals drained her, and after consultation with Holder
Evoran and Premier Evor, it was decided that it be best for her
to return to the Star Chaser earlier than expected in preparation
for departure.”

“Um. . .”
“Perhaps if we contact the Premier, we can clarify the

decision. I’m sure he’s awake.”

The staff member cleared her throat. “Let me check the

comms again.”

“Thank you.” Torri adjusted her position to make it easier

for Jindor to continue leaning on her. She had assessed the Ansi
mood correctly. No one really wanted to deal with either the
holder or his successor. Even if Saryl couldn’t plant the message
after Torri had just pinged Jann, this Ansi staff member would
let them pass. After all, a representative of the goddess was not
feeling well. Better to deal with an unpopular mortal man than
the potential long-term effects of a displeased goddess.

“Ah, here’s one.” The staff member looked up in obvious

relief.

Thank you, Saryl.
“But it’s from Major Sorreth at Tinsdale.”
How had Saryl managed that? No matter. Torri was glad

she had. Sorreth’s orders trumped Evoran’s. And Evor, she was
certain, would not challenge a Coalition offi cer. “And the
major is authorizing transport to the Star Chaser?”

The staff member seemed to be reading through the comm.

“He does. You’re to wait outside for your escort to your ship.”
The staff member looked at her console, then at Torri and
Jindor, clearly torn.

“No need to leave your station,” Torri said. “You’ve done

your duty well.”

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132

“Thank you. Many thanks, as well, for your visit and your

blessings, Priestess. I hope you are not indisposed too
long.”

“Just a bit of exhaustion. Thank you for your concern.”

Jindor smiled at her and allowed Torri to lead her across the
hangar to the main arched entrance, big enough for fl oaters and
small cruisers. The staff member took the force shield down,
and they exited into an encroaching dawn. Torri felt rather than
heard the hum of the shield as it reactivated, a barely
discernible static in the still air. Once the sun fi nished cresting
the eastern horizon, its warmth would stir wind.

Jindor stopped leaning on her, and Torri checked her wrist

comm. Twenty seconds to spare. She could just make out the
form of the Far Seek in the gray light that bridged night and
day. A light bounced toward them. A floater, no doubt,
bringing their escort. It arrived carrying two Coalition soldiers,
and Jann. He hopped out. “Guardian, if I may?”

Torri nodded, and he took the duffl e bag from her and loaded

it into the cargo hold of the fl oater. One soldier remained in
the vehicle, and one stood and watched Jann, who returned to
Jindor’s side. He preceded her onto the fl oater. “Are you ready,
Priestess?”

“I am. Thank you.”
He helped Jindor aboard, making a show of being careful.

Once Jindor was settled, Torri climbed in and seated herself
next to her. The pilot released the vehicle’s magnets, and they
returned to the ship, where Jann once again played host. He
helped Jindor out and retrieved the duffl e, then stood while a
soldier scanned it with a detector. Satisfi ed, she waved them
up the ramp into the Far Seek. Jann took the lead, and Torri
followed him, pretending to support Jindor. Once inside, Jann
activated a force shield over the exit, but he didn’t close the
hatch.

“They want the ramp down,” he said.
Of course they did, Torri thought. The Far Seek couldn’t

leave the planet with the ramp down. But if they had to make

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133

a run for it, they’d take off with it down and retract it in fl ight.
She’d done that maneuver before. She’d do it again if
necessary. She and Jindor followed him to the rear of the ship
and entered the cargo bay, stacked with containers of spices.
He set the duffl e on one and looked at Torri.

“It’s best that the Priestess rests. I think, too, you might

consider doing the same, Guardian.”

He was baiting the Coalition probes in the ship’s

commlinks. Torri followed his lead. “A good idea. I’ll escort
the priestess to her quarters and make use of my own. Please
notify us when the Tinsdale escort arrives.” But neither Torri
nor Jindor moved, and a few moments later Saryl appeared.

“We’ve got ten minutes before they check the glitch in the

links. I’ve got the full system block on.”

“Well done. You’re both hired.” Torri grinned at Saryl then Jann.
“That’s a relief,” he said. “And here I was, worried about

my next job.”

“How did you get the security detail to provide an escort?”

Jindor interrupted the banter.

Saryl shrugged, laconic. “I asked.”
Torri focused on her. “And Sorreth approved it?”
“Sometimes the most obvious approach is the best. Nobody

wants to be responsible for not ensuring the comfort of an ill
priestess. The Coalition knows that kind of attention wins them
no favors, even among supporters. I forwarded Sorreth’s orders
to the Ansi hangar.”

“Does either Evoran or Evor know we’ve left?”
“I don’t think so. We haven’t received any word yet. I’ve

already sent Othne’s sincere regrets that she had to take her
leave early, but she felt it was in her best interests to seek rest
on the Star Chaser and not trouble his household further. She
hopes to return to Vegas Sector in the near future. She thinks
perhaps the Flori Temple might consider building a sister
temple here, as there seems to be a need.”

“My, how virtuous Othne is,” Torri said, glancing at Jindor,

who half-bowed at her in mock piety. “What now?”

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134

“You and Othne are scheduled for pick-up at fourteen

hundred hours. Sorreth seemed to think that was plenty of time
for recuperation.” Saryl’s tone told Torri that he was not a man
who adjusted his schedules much.

“And what of the major?”
Saryl handed Torri a commdisc. “I’m sure you’ll fi nd it as

interesting as I did,” she said, with a hint of warning in her
voice.

“I’m sure.” Torri pocketed the disc. Saryl had clearly found

something in Sorreth’s background that troubled her. “And
thank you, all, for extricating us from Ansi. Dal, you’re a man
after my own heart.” She used his alias, one of their policies
when docked.

“High praise. Too bad you’re not my type, Captain.”
“Oh? Why not?”
“I prefer sane women.”
“So now you’re choosy?” Saryl asked. He shrugged and

smiled.

“I think I need a nap,” Torri said. “Perhaps then I’ll be sane

enough for Dal’s liking. Birrit, notify me if anything changes.”

“Will do. And it’s nice to have you both aboard again. We

missed you, no matter what Dal says.”

Torri waved and left, Jindor not far behind. Torri wanted

to shower, eat, and see what Saryl had found on Major Andris
Sorreth. And then she wanted to sleep for an hour. Or maybe
she’d do that fi rst. She pressed her thumb on the keypad
outside her quarters and entered. Defi nitely a nap fi rst.

Torri sat at the small table in her quarters and went back

through the information about Sorreth on the commdisc, still
using her wrist unit to mitigate probes in the ship’s neurosystems.
She used the holofunction, which enlarged the images and
projected them over the table, making the data a size that was
easier to work with.

Saryl hadn’t found much about Sorreth’s early life, but

during the last fifteen years, he had thrown himself into
Coalition service, according to the records she’d pieced
together. From the fi les, Torri wasn’t sure whether Sorreth was
a true believer or someone who thrived on the chance to
exercise gratuitous violence without repercussion. Either way,
he was a nasty enemy if they didn’t play this right.

Torri sipped the cup of hasha she’d gotten from the mess

and skimmed to Sorreth’s most recent accomplishments. One
in particular had been digging at her. She called it up, and an
image of Major Andris Sorreth fl oated in front of her. She
didn’t recognize him, but appearances were easily altered.
He’d received his promotion to major last year, right after he
crushed a cell of like-minds here on Earth, in Aysa Provice. For
a Coalition soldier, that was something to celebrate—destroying
a rebel hive.

Except it wasn’t true. Torri studied his image. The

like-minds Sorreth claimed to have killed had been dead much
longer. Five of them were killed years before, in the battles

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136

at Shanlin when Torri was shot down over Mangone Swamp.
The other three he had recorded in the fi le as like-mind kills
Torri suspected had claimed death and chosen new identities.
All eight on his report had fought in a squadron Torri had been
with until a month before Mangone.

So why did Sorreth say he had wiped out a like-mind cell

a year ago? Had he been gunning for a promotion? But if that
were the case, how would he even know the names of rebels
at Shanlin? Those he had claimed as recent kills clearly didn’t
make it into Coalition databases after Shanlin, because Sorreth
was able to resurrect them and claim he had killed them much
later after their actual deaths. Which meant he had either done
a lot of research or he had been at Shanlin.

Torri fi nished her hasha and sat back, thinking. If Sorreth

had fought with Coalition forces at Shanlin, then he’d probably
be privy to the names of some of the rebels there. Commprobes
and careless talk invariably allowed some information to
escape. She checked his promotions again. According to the
fi les, he was a lieutenant at the time the battles erupted at
Shanlin. He made captain after the Collapse, which made sense
if he’d seen service in those fi nal battles.

Except Saryl had found nothing that defi nitively linked him

to Shanlin. That left two possibilities. One, Sorreth manufactured
parts of his past in order to curry favor within the military.
Nothing surprising about that. The Coalition was full of
opportunists. Some probably really believed in the new regime,
but most, she fi gured, would slip a blade between its ribs if a
different power structure replaced it. The second possibility—
and one that turned her stomach—was that Sorreth had indeed
been at Shanlin, but as a rebel. If he had been a Coalition spy
at Shanlin who had infi ltrated rebel ranks, his service there
would have been noted in his military records, most likely as
something innocuous but probably heroic. The Coalition liked
to celebrate its victories and victors, even though it might not
be too specifi c about what the soldier had done. If Sorreth had
served as a rebel at Shanlin, he had clearly turned, and what

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137

he knew of the past was helping to provide promotions in the
Coalition military.

The container that had held her hasha dissolved on the

table’s surface, and the liquid pooled beneath the images of
Sorreth’s record, like her memories of Shanlin. She felt the
hit to her starboard thrusters again, and the smell of scorched
metal and fl uids fi lled her nostrils, even across time and the
reaches of space. Again, her ship careened out of control and
fell toward Earth, and she waited as long as she could to blow
the hatch and trigger her chute, and she kept falling, debris
from her ship’s impact and subsequent explosion fi lling the
air around her as she braced for impact in the trees she barely
saw—

“Shar.” Saryl’s voice over her commlink broke the past’s

hold.

“Birrit,” she acknowledged as she worked to get her

breathing under control.

“We’ve received a comm from Tinsdale. It’s on the main

boards, and I’ve fl agged it for your assessment. There are some
things you should know.”

“Very well. I’ll access it now.”
“Comm me if necessary. Out.”
Torri broke the link, wondering at Saryl’s urgency and

brusque solicitousness. She called up the appropriate datalink
on her vidscreen. The comm had arrived ten minutes earlier.
She opened it and started to read. Two sentences in, she had
to fi ght again to keep her breathing under control. Oh, no. She
fi nished it and read it once more. No. She stood, compelled to
do something besides sit, though she stared at nothing, mind
reeling. She glanced at the chronometer on her wrist unit. Less
than three hours, now. Less than three hours, and Kai would
arrive, part of the escort that would take her and Jindor to
Sorreth.

Kai had told her in Newburg that if Torri ever needed to

contact her, to use the old frequency, a reference to a channel
they’d opened at the Academy, that ran on nearly forgotten

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138

equipment. A few of the Cadets fi gured out how to duplicate
the frequency on their wrist comms, a secret they passed on
to other Cadets worthy of knowing it. Torri and Kai had both
been granted access to it by an upperclassman who died in a
fi ghter crash two years later, after he had graduated. Torri had
kept the channel programmed into her wrist reader, and kept
it open since her own graduation. Anyone who contacted her
on it would most likely be like-mind who had fought with her
at Shanlin. Or perhaps Kai would use the frequency, and Torri
always had hope for that.

Torri now stared at her wrist unit like it was a foreign object.

Did she dare ping Kai on the old frequency? Did she dare take
that chance? Her left hand moved, as if of its own volition, and
her fi ngers reached for the reader’s face. No. Her hand dropped.
Kai was thorough. She’d no doubt already run a check on the
vessel and discovered that Dal Greyburn and Birrit Cansi had
registered the Star Chaser in Newburg. Kai knew that Dal and
Birrit were members of her crew, so she would assume that the
two passengers listed on the manifest were Jindor and Torri.
And Kai had commed them because she wanted Torri to know
that she would be part of the escort.

But what was Kai doing at Tinsdale? Torri glared out the

viewport, though from her position, she could only see a swath
of desert and a dark line of distant buttes. Was she on leave?
Or had the Coalition stationed her there? Perhaps Kai
had requested the assignment, given that Tinsdale Holdings
had been drawn into what looked more and more like a
bioweapons research facility. Kai had not been pleased that the
Coalition was trying to force her father into either a long-term
lease or a sale, so maybe she thought the best thing she could
do to ensure that the holdings remained in Tinsdale hands was
to go and run interference for her father.

Torri sat down on the bench that served as her couch,

thinking. Meli was very good at political machinations, and
she’d married someone who was well connected in Coalition
webs. Meli was no fool, and she knew that in order to retain a

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139

bit of independence, she needed a bondmate who could both
create and call in favors from Coalition offi cials. Tarkin could
do that, Kai had said, and he’d do the same regardless of who
was in power. His family had played the Empire the same way,
and had long roots in Amer Province, all the way back to the
Reorganization. But if Meli and Tarkin hadn’t been able to
hold the Coalition off, perhaps Kai had decided to get more
directly involved.

Torri rubbed her forehead. Where was Vano here? From

her own observations, he was useless to Tinsdale, but he might
have the wherewithal to curry Coalition favor. Even using his
familial holdings as leverage, though Kai had told her that she
doubted he was even actually related to her, that her father’s
fi rst bondmate had engaged in trysts with people other than
Kaivan.

Nothing strange about that, since most marriages were

based on political and economic ties, rather than an antiquated
sense of loyalty to the premise of monogamy. But Stanni had
been careless indeed, allowing a pregnancy. Even in some of
the more traditional Earthbound cultures, unplanned
pregnancies were rare, if practically nonexistent. Perhaps
Stanni hadn’t known she was pregnant. Strange, but possible.
And too bad, because Vano was always a thorn at Tinsdale.
Was he capable of having a hand in this situation? She doubted
it.

Regardless, Kai was at Tinsdale, and would soon be arriving

at the Far Seek to take custody of Torri and Jindor. That’s
really what this was about, no matter what euphemisms
Sorreth employed. The Coalition was experimenting with a
parasite that was embedded in both Radij culture and Radij
bodies, and the only reason Sorreth would waste any time with
a priestess of Cyllea was if her guardian happened to be Radij.
Most likely, he wanted a blood sample.

Torri grimaced. If she had to, she would ensure he got one,

and by the time Sorreth’s staff realized that the blood wasn’t
Radij, the Far Seek would be gone. They needed to acquire a

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140

blood sample, and it couldn’t come from anyone on the ship
because blood revealed pasts, and that was a chance none of
them could take. She left her quarters and went in search of
Jann.

Jindor appraised Torri’s appearance and then she used

an eyescope to check Torri’s irises. “Still holding,” she said.
“Dal?”

Jann took the instrument and peered through it. “Yes.

Hopefully two more days.”

Torri exhaled in relief.
Jann set the instrument aside and checked the chronograph.

Torri did, as well. Three minutes before they’d have to unblock
the comms. He spoke quickly and quietly. “Hold off on the
sample as long as you can. The Radij are absolutely opposed to
providing blood—even the ones who don’t have the parasite.
If that’s all Sorreth wants, then a few hours or even a day of
dickering about the Cultural Autonomy Directive is worth it.”
He looked at Jindor then. “Try to get them to allow me to take
the sample. Tell them Oiros has done business with us in the
past, and Shar trusts me to be discreet. Or something like that.
We’ve got to make sure that I take the sample, if it comes to
that. It’s the best way to make this work. Barring that, then
you’ll have to fi nd a way to substitute samples.” He handed
a vial to Jindor less than an inch long. “Medical protocol is
barely a drop.” His expression told them what he was thinking
before he voiced it. “But you know who we’re dealing with.”

Jindor pulled her pendant from inside her shirt and turned

the stone over. She triggered a hidden catch and placed the vial
inside.

Clever, Torri thought. But not necessarily safe. Still, the

Coalition had no interest in creating bad will with temples.
Offi cials knew the power of religion, and they knew that
political expediency often required a light touch with servants
of Cyllea. Hopefully, nobody had thought to dig beyond

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141

the registry at Oiros, if they’d done that at all. Saryl had
left a few forgeries in the fi rst archival levels to deter more
suspicious minds, but Torri had no illusions about how long
that could last. They needed a day, maybe two, and hopefully
they could provide the “sample” and leave without more than
a few ruffl ed feathers.

But what of Kai? Where was she in this? She’d received her

promotion to commander right after Newburg, and faster than
she had thought, since she’d told Torri in Newburg that it was
six months away. Perhaps her actions at Vintooth had played
favorably with her superiors. The only other alternative was
far more sinister, and she refused to believe that Kai would
sell her out, especially after what had transpired between them
in Newburg. Kai had to know by now what the Coalition
was doing, and she had to have fi gured out that Torri was once
again in her orbit. So she had to suspect what Sorreth wanted
with an alleged priestess’s alleged Radij guardian.

“Time,” Jann said, even more softly than his instructions.

Saryl had unblocked the comms, according to the chronograph.
He stood and gestured toward the door of sick bay. Torri and
Jindor had to prepare for Tinsdale. For Torri, that meant far
more than she would have preferred. She nodded at Jann and
offered a wry smile. They’d been in worse situations than this
one. And he and Saryl knew to save themselves if Torri ordered
it. Whether they’d adhere to such an order remained to be seen,
but she knew that if there were no other way, they’d do so.

Jindor put a battered fl ight jacket on that looked like

someone’s cast-off. She’d dressed in plain black trousers and
one of Jann’s dark shirts, to lend an appearance that she had not
been prepared for a fl oater journey like this and was forced to
borrow clothing more suitable to Sorreth’s demands. Torri put
her jacket on and followed Jindor into the corridor beyond.

She still wore her tunic, but she’d changed into a black shirt

and trousers. Jindor had tied her hair back but she still wore the
diadem, to mark her status. Torri followed her into the corridor,
and nervous energy suffused her muscles. She was trained for

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142

just such occasions, skills honed to almost machine-
like precision but with the fl exibility and experience to adjust
quickly. She’d survived this long, she wasn’t going to get taken
out without a fi ght.

“Priestess,” Saryl said from behind them. “We’ve received

orders to stand by. The escort has departed Tinsdale.” She
looked at Torri, expression sympathetic and worried.

“Thank you, Captain. Are we to wait on the landing pad?”
“The major did request that.”
“Very well. Then we shall accommodate him.” She looked

at Torri, and together they moved to the ramp.

“We’ll await word.” Saryl squeezed Torri’s shoulder then

Jindor’s in an uncharacteristic display of physical contact.

“We’ll send it.” Torri looked at Saryl a moment longer then

placed herself slightly ahead of Jindor as they descended the
ramp together. Wind fl ung dust around the gathered soldiers—
eight, now—and Torri almost had sympathy for them. She’d
had to pull guard duty in all kinds of weather, and most of these
recruits probably had no loyalty to the Coalition. They were
just recruits, like she had once been at the Academy, and for a
brief moment she recognized a comradeship. It disappeared as
quickly as it had come. They wore Coalition black, and would
carry out orders under that mantle, no matter a shared
experience.

The one gray-clad fi gure stepped forward. By the color of

his stripes, they’d warranted a captain. Torri assessed his
demeanor. Formal but confi dent. He moved with the assurance
of someone who had seen service beyond mere guard duty, and
he was well-muscled, from the way his uniform fi t. A career
soldier. She guessed he loved the military, and didn’t care who
ran it. But because he was military, he, too, would follow
orders. Sorreth didn’t want to take any chances.

“Priestess,” the captain said in Coalition, “the escort from

Tinsdale Holdings will arrive in fi fteen minutes. Please stand
over here.” He motioned toward the edge of the landing pad
that was farthest from the Far Seek. They followed him, and

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143

once there, Torri and Jindor turned their backs to the wind. The
captain did, as well. His hand rested on his pistol.

“If I might ask, sir, why Major Sorreth has requested an

audience with me?” Jindor addressed him in Coalition.

“Can’t say,” he responded with a shrug.
“Might you then have any estimate about how much time

this will take? The transport my guardian and I arrived on has
schedules to maintain, as does the temple.”

“Perhaps Commander Tinsdale can provide that information,”

he said, as apologetically as Coalition allowed. Had he spoken
in Empire, his infl ection would have told them that he was not
privy to a timeline.

“Thank you.” Jindor pulled her jacket tighter around her,

a vulnerable gesture that didn’t match the woman Torri had
hired as navigator. But as a servant of Cyllea, such an air lent
credence to their masquerade. They all three stood in silence.
Wind pushed against Torri’s back and whipped dirt past her
face. Sorreth had deliberately requested that she and Jindor
wait outside for the escort. Did he think that they were
going to make a run for it? The terrain was probably riddled
with Coalition security, and a Directive in place ensured that
surveillance had tightened in this sector. More likely, it was
a psychological tactic, to keep them uncomfortable and off
guard. “When interacting with a potentially hostile subject,
you must establish primacy and then maintain it through your
successive actions. No matter how small the gesture might
seem, it must keep the subject wondering about your
motives.”

Torri studied the western horizon through the haze. Sorreth

did have primacy here, but there were still a few hands that
Torri hadn’t played. And one was approaching now, in a fl oater
from Tinsdale.

Kai climbed out of the vehicle fi rst, followed by two

Coalition soldiers. One, whose gender Torri couldn’t deduce,
and a female captain she recognized as the Coalition offi cial
Evor had been speaking with the night before. She clenched
her teeth at the sight of Kai, at the recent memories she shared
with her, but in accordance with her role as Jindor’s guardian,
she stood protectively near her, arms crossed.

Kai approached, her smooth, even stride painfully familiar.

In her gray battle dress, Kai looked like the perfect soldier, but
it was her demeanor, with or without the uniform, that ensured
attention and obedience. Kai never had to demand either, which
was why she was such an effective leader. That, and Kai’s
unswerving sense of loyalty and duty, though Torri knew how
those two warred within her. She studied Kai’s features and
tried not to appear as if she were staring, tried to read what Kai
might be thinking. Kai’s lean, strong features were set in the
hard formality that always accompanied her uniform. Which
would win this day? Loyalty or duty? Torri was gambling on
loyalty, but Kai’s family played a role here, too, and she would
not begrudge Kai if she chose duty, though she’d carry that
pain as long as she lived.

“At ease,” Kai said in Coalition to the captain on Jindor’s right.

“Priestess Othne, I’m Commander Kai Tinsdale. I’m charged with
escorting you to Major Andris Sorreth, currently stationed at
Tinsdale Holdings. This is Lieutenant Bal and Captain Hyacin.”

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145

Jindor acknowledged the introduction with a wary smile.

“I suppose I should thank you, Commander, though I remain
puzzled as to what Major Sorreth could possibly want of me or
my guardian.”

Torri relaxed a hair, even in Kai’s presence. From that

response, no one would guess that Jindor knew who Kai was,
given the business at Newburg.

“I’m sure the major will inform you.” Kai then focused on

Torri. “My apologies for this inconvenience,” she said,
enunciating each word carefully. Her gaze lingered on the
Radij scars. “I’ll do my utmost to ensure your comfort and
safety.”

Torri’s heart pounded her ribs like a cannon but she gave no

outward sign. Kai knew damn well what Sorreth wanted. She
knew what he was about, and she knew what the Coalition was
doing. It was in her eyes, it was in the way she held herself, and
it hung like smoke and death over a battlefi eld. She knew, and
she was furious.

“Our thanks, Commander,” Torri said, as Bal and Hyacin

returned to the fl oater.

Kai’s eyes bored into Torri’s a few extra moments, and

Torri thought she saw echoes of their shared past in them, and
then Kai turned to Jindor. “Priestess, if you and your guardian
would please accompany us now—” She beckoned at the fl oater,
where the genderless Lieutenant Bal sat behind the controls,
and Captain Hyacin occupied the seat closest to the back of
the vehicle, probably as a guard. Torri boarded fi rst, then Jindor.
Kai waited for both to adjust their harnesses before she, too,
climbed in, the fl oater bouncing like a tight spring beneath
her weight. She sat to Jindor’s right, ensuring that a servant of
Cyllea was protected on all sides. Or guarded. However one
viewed the situation.

“When you’re ready, Lieutenant.” Kai sat back in her seat,

and Bal touched the control panel. The top slid into place over
them, and then Bal disengaged the magnets and accelerated,
the force of the fl oater’s increasing speed pushing Torri back

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146

against the seat. Kai engaged Jindor in a bit of conversation
about Vegas Sector—something a well-mannered military
offi cial would do with another offi cial or dignitary.

Once, Kai caught Torri’s eye, and the right side of her mouth

twitched, a motion so slight that it might have been a trick of
the light. But she had lived and breathed over three years of
Kai, and every nuance of Kai’s body language had stamped
itself on her psyche. Kai was suppressing a smile, but whether
she was offering encouragement or acknowledging that here
they were again, in each other’s company in unexpected
circumstances, she wasn’t sure. Probably both. She stared at
the back of Bal’s head the rest of the journey, willing herself
not to look at Kai because it might alert Hyacin. It didn’t
matter whether she saw Kai or not, though, because every
nerve sang at her proximity, and Kai’s voice slid into her veins
as she conversed with Jindor.

Your bunkmate is your closest ally, came Torri’s memory

from Cadet introduction. You may not like her. You may even
hate her. But you will come to trust her with your life. Her
life. Did Torri trust Kai with that? What could Kai do for
her, surrounded by Coalition and caught in some kind of
bioweapons research? What would Kai sacrifi ce to the ghosts
of the past? Torri clenched her teeth so hard her jaw ached. If
the price Kai had to pay to ensure Torri’s safety was too high,
Torri wouldn’t allow her to pay it. No matter the outcome, she
would not place the burden for her mistakes at Ansi on Kai. Or
on any of her crew.

Sometimes sacrifi ces must be made, Instructor Flor had said

once. You are Cadets. You will come to accept that. Or you
will fail. And he’d looked at each of them, standing out on the
landing pad before their fi rst offi cial training mission. Which
one of you, he seemed to ask, will that be? Torri knew then, as
she knew now, that if you were unwilling to accept the
consequences of your actions and decisions, unwilling to
sacrifi ce something should the circumstances warrant it, then
you would fail. Should fail.

A Matter of Blood

147

Torri didn’t fear death. She feared that her death would be

in vain, a sacrifi ce that changed nothing. She glanced at Kai,
then Jindor, and thought about Jann and Saryl. If she must die
at Sorreth’s bidding, then she must ensure that such an
occurrence allowed her crew to escape, and Kai to remain
safe, even in Coalition ranks. Yes, she thought. Sometimes
sacrifi ces must be made. But sometimes we can control the
situations in which they occur. Clinging to that thought, she
prepared herself for the next stage of this journey, wherever it
would lead.

Torri stood in the center of the room, studying the

scientifi c accoutrements that defi ned it as a laboratory. She’d
been here for at least thirty minutes, since Bal and Hyacin
had left her. They’d arrived via the conveyor, constructed in
an underground passage whose entrance was accessed a
mile outside the unclaimed territory. Torri wasn’t sure how far
they’d gone, but she guessed she was beneath the toxic soil.
Kai, fortunately, had escorted Jindor to Tinsdale, which meant
Torri didn’t have to worry about her. She had a better chance at
escape from there than here.

She returned her attention to the room. Two exam tables

fl anked her, one on either side, and a counter ran along all four
walls. Several vidscreens were set into the walls and panels
near each one were labeled in Coalition, advertising scientifi c
equipment. A thumb pad was set into the wall near each panel.
Everything was stark, maddening white, with the exception of
the soft blue of the vidscreens and red lettering on the exam
tables.

To a casual observer—and Torri fi gured she was under

surveillance—she might have been just a bored onlooker,
waiting for something to happen. Which was what she was
counting on. She forced herself to take calm, regular breaths
and stared at the ceiling, then looked around again, feigning
continued boredom. Hyacin had confi scated her dirk before

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148

leaving her to contemplate whatever fate Sorreth would
decree, and so far, this room was devoid of anything that might
be used as a weapon. Still, the exam tables could serve
as barriers, and there might be something behind the panels,
though bypassing the thumb pads could prove difficult. Not
impossible, however. Everything can be put to a use for which
it was not intended.

The door slid open, and Lieutenant Bal entered—Torri had

decided that Bal was probably female, or at least identifi ed that
way—followed by a man in formal Coalition grays whom
Torri recognized as Sorreth. His appearance hadn’t changed
much from the image in his fi les. Not much taller than she. His
dark hair—was that actually hair?—matched his eyebrows,
which she saw immediately were tattoos and not actual brows.
Nothing about his movements or appearance were familiar, so
if he had been at Shanlin as a rebel, she may not have had any
contact with him. Or he had altered himself enough that even
his closest friends there wouldn’t recognize him today.

“Shar n’Morif,” he said in Coalition, in a voice that

carried hints of warmth. It was at odds with his appearance.
“If I may.”

“You may,” she responded, deliberately accenting the

Coalition on her tongue with Southern Edge. “Major Sorreth,
I assume.”

He stopped a few feet from her, Bal to his right, and

appraised her unabashedly, as if he were choosing an envoy
at a pleasure dome. “You assume correctly. Please forgive my
rather abrupt invitation. It’s just that I was so thrilled to
discover that someone of Radij heritage was so close. I
simply couldn’t let the opportunity pass.” He smiled, and his
eyes seemed to shimmer. Syn? Possibly.

Torri didn’t respond. The major seemed to enjoy banter, so

she wouldn’t give him any. Instead, she waited. He did, as well,
and continued his survey of her body. Was he trying to push her
in some way? Force a reaction? The thought both annoyed and
amused her.

A Matter of Blood

149

“I have to wonder,” he said after a while, “if being away

from the homelands for so long allows a loosening of certain
restrictions.” He phrased it delicately.

“No,” she responded with a fl at, hard tone that even in

Coalition had the consistency of stone.

He looked at her, and for a moment, surprise might have

registered in his eyes. They shimmered beneath the lights,
and seemed almost to twinkle. Defi nitely syn in that regard,
at least. But an expensive eye job. Was the good major mostly
human? Mostly syn? Or a balance of both? A frown hovered
on his lips for a couple of seconds, and Torri decided he was at
least half-human.

“Most distressing,” he said in a soft, portentous voice. “You

still follow Radij restrictions with regard to Standard Medical
Procedure?”

Torri studied him like she might a strange insect. His frown

returned beneath her scrutiny, but she buried her satisfaction at
getting to him.

“Culture is not something one removes like a piece of

clothing,” she replied, deliberately eschewing his title. Radij
were not known to use them with people who had not won
their respect, and she guessed Sorreth knew this. Dangerous,
perhaps, to push him, but she wanted to map her boundaries.
Bal looked from her to him, unease advertised in the tightening
of her shoulders.

“Of course,” he said abruptly. “I’ve overstepped.

Uncharitable of me.” He grinned, and his mirth—genuine—
found refl ection in his eyes. Disconcerting, this Sorreth. His
demeanor was at odds with his responses. Torri decided to rely
on the former as an accurate gauge of his motives. “However,”
he said, “I’m quite certain the Cultural Autonomy Directive
provides for extenuating circumstances.”

“And that would be?”
He clapped his hands together, as if delighted that he’d

drawn her into a conversation. “A medical option that could
save the lives of thousands of individuals.”

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150

Torri waited for him to continue, and when he saw that she

was not going to engage further, he did so.

“The parasite is deadly, as you know, to humans and a few

humanoid species. Radij excepted, of course. We—” He raised
an eyebrow, seeing if she followed that the “we” referred to
the Coalition. Of course she did, but she made no effort
to acknowledge it. “We are concerned that certain illicit
parties are conducting experiments with the parasite that is
native to Sentinel, and that said parties are attempting to
. . . how to put this delicately . . .” He hesitated, as if really
debating what he was going to tell her, which wasn’t the case.
This was a controlled, careful man who planned even his most
mundane statements. “Shall we say that should these parties
manage to fi gure out a way to use the parasite against their
enemies, the results could be catastrophic.”

“And impossible. No parasite or host can survive a journey

through space. And it is forbidden to remove the parasite from
the homelands,” she said, injecting what she hoped was
convincing anger into her statement.

Sorreth shook his head in a parody of sadness. “We should

all be so fortunate, that a respect for cultures and territories
ensures that we wouldn’t have to lose sleep over such matters.
Nonetheless, we do. And we must. Which is why a medical
directive may overrule the Cultural Autonomy Directive in
this instance. My sincerest apologies, Guardian n’Morif, but
we must have a sample of your blood to start developing
an antidote against such nefarious deeds. The fate of
some humanoid species could depend on it.” He half-bowed
and added a sweeping hand gesture.

“No.” The word fell hard and fl at, like her expression.
He straightened and regarded her through newly narrowed

eyes. “I can put in a request to the High Council. I assure you,
they will grant it.”

“That remains to be seen. Do so.”
“It would go much easier and faster for all of us were you

to simply allow us a drop of your blood. A mere drop.

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151

Barely visible. Surely that is not in violation of your cultural
mores.”

“Amount is irrelevant. It is forbidden for me to provide

such a sample.” Torri crossed her arms and returned his glare
with impassivity.

Sorreth frowned for a third time since this meeting started. She

guessed he wasn’t used to such open defi ance. That could either
make him careless or more dangerous. She’d know soon enough.

He smiled suddenly. “Very well. I hope, then, that you don’t

mind being our guest for a while longer.”

“Guest? If such were true, then the priestess and I would

be allowed to return to Oiros. I hardly think this qualifi es as
any sort of hospitality. I therefore assume I am under some
kind of arrest, and the Articles of Detention clearly allow me
representation and open communication with regard to the
circumstances of my case.”

The smile remained on his face, but it was forced, now.

“Certainly. I’ll arrange a commlink as soon as possible. It’s
diffi cult to do so in this part of the province.”

“Then take me back to Tinsdale,” she said, noting that he

didn’t deny that she was being detained. What was the point?
And what could she do about it?

The smile disappeared. “I’m afraid that’s impossible.

Weather conditions have made the surface impassable for at
least three hours.”

Convenient, Torri thought. That’s about how long it would

take to get the High Council to authorize the blood sample.

“Bal will take you to more comfortable quarters. Once the

weather relents, you’ll be returned to Tinsdale.” He turned in
an abrupt motion and left the room, but in the way he moved,
Torri saw irritation. The door remained open, and she
considered her chances if she made a run for it. Not good.
She wasn’t quite sure where they were, or that she could get
the conveyor to operate, since she wasn’t authorized personnel.
She elected to go willingly with Bal, who said nothing as she
led her down the corridor farther away from the conveyor. The

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152

walls and ceiling gleamed white, offering no shadows. A
diffi cult place to go unnoticed.

Bal turned left down an equally bright corridor and stopped

at the fi rst door on her right. She pressed her thumb to the
keypad and motioned for Torri to go in. Once again Torri
debated an escape, but two Coalition soldiers rounded the
corner just then, chatting. Damn. She went into the room, and
the door slid shut behind her, separating her from Bal. She
surveyed her surroundings, a small windowless area, maybe
ten feet square. No furniture, with the exception of a low bench
that ran the length of each wall. A Coalition sign over a niche
in the far wall advertised beverages, but she wasn’t taking any
chances with that, though she could have used a bit of water.

She chose a corner on the wall in which the door was set

and leaned back, her legs stretched out in front of her on the
bench. At least it was gelled. Not so uncomfortable as she had
initially thought. She pinged Saryl once, not wanting to take
a chance that the signal would be tracked. How far was she
below ground? That would also affect the ability of Saryl to
get a lock on her. But a chance, however slim, was better than
none at all. She closed her eyes. It would be a couple of hours,
at least, before anyone came for her with the Council’s
approval. At that point, she’d demand Jann’s services. There
was no guarantee she’d be granted her request, but she could
at least get another ping to Saryl during what was sure to be
another inhospitable exchange with Sorreth.

Torri opted to conserve her energies and capitalize on her

situation. She sank into a doze.

“Perhaps I might speak with her,” Kai said to Sorreth’s

image on the vidscreen in her quarters. “I’ve worked with some
Radij in a few of my units.”

“I’m not sure that’s necessary.”
Kai buried a sigh. Must he be so diffi cult? She checked

herself. Of course he must. Coalition, after all. So she’d have
to take a chance, though she’d never been much for gambling,
even during her Academy days. But Torri had never been one
of the stakes, either. She opened her wager. “Major, if I might
address this matter with you more bluntly?”

“How so?” he said, and Kai heard caution in the question.
“I’m not entirely certain that detaining a Radij temple

guardian will curry favor with local holders.”

He pursed his lips for a second. “That is indeed blunt.” His

tone carried a warning, even in Coalition. “Explain.”

“I’m thinking of appearances. And as I’m sure you

understand, I am in an awkward position. After all, I am a
member of a local holding, which means I’m privy to
certain . . . rumblings, if you will, about policy decisions.
However, I’m also positioned to understand local networks.”
She’d bluffed a strong hand, she fi gured. Her fi rst card was a
power card, but not ranked so high that he’d think it her only
one.

“Rumblings, Commander?”
She shrugged, a casual motion designed to put him a little at

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154

ease but yet warn him that there were rumors afoot that hadn’t
grown past the nascent stage.

He pursed his lips. “Playing the benevolent, are you? I’m

disappointed, Commander, at the transparency of that
approach.” He smirked, and Kai wished she could reach
through the screen and punch it off him.

“Not at all,” she said, glad she still sounded calm. “I’m

merely offering my services and experience with a member
of a particular cultural and ethnic group. And working to
ensure that there isn’t any fallout that could damage the
project.” Which is exactly what she wanted to do. Not just
damage it. Blast it beyond recognition. But that was a card she
wasn’t going to play. Not yet.

“You’re suggesting my services and experience aren’t

suffi cient?” He was either teasing her or baiting her. Kai pushed
her bet higher.

“Are they? Might Guardian n’Morif have reason to lodge

any kind of complaint with regard to her treatment? And might
local holders have any reason to think that a priestess of Cyllea
has been inconvenienced in any way?” Kai raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t think I like this conversation. What exactly are you

insinuating, Commander?” Still, he smiled, though the
expression in his eyes was hard and cold, like a sharp blade.

“Major Sorreth,” she said, in as conciliatory a tone as she

could muster, “as I know you’re fully aware, the matter you’ve
undertaken here has ramifi cations beyond a minor medical
procedure, including jeopardizing work on this project. I’m
sure you and your superior offi cers would be vastly disappointed
should that happen because of a matter as simple as cultural
courtesies.” As much as it galled her to phrase her concerns in
the ass-licking cadences of Coalition, Kai did so.

He studied her for a moment, as if trying to decide whether

he could take her statement at face value. A wiser man would
not. Kai was betting he wasn’t.

“I doubt your input will do much good,” he responded, in

his usual smooth tones.

A Matter of Blood

155

“It can’t hurt,” Kai pressed. “How long before the High

Council responds?”

“Two hours, at least.”
“Did she request representation under the Articles of

Detention?” Kai played a higher card, testing.

Sorreth stared at her, expression placid though his eyes still

seemed to sparkle. It hit her, then. Syn. He was part syn, which
might explain the paradoxes of his behavior. But her question
had thrown him a bit.

“Yes,” he admitted.
So he had detained her. Slag-fi sted bastard. “And did you

grant it?” She hoped her anger hadn’t reached her words.

“Not yet.”
She pushed her bet. “If I may . . .”
“I suspect I have little choice.” He offered another smile.

She ignored it.

“You understand, Major, that this issue cannot be resolved

if Guardian n’Morif is not granted appropriate representation,
regardless of what the High Council rules. The Radij take blood
matters very seriously.” She crossed her arms for emphasis.
“Are you aware of the diplomatic crisis that will ensue should
the Ori intervene when they hear of the Council’s approval of
your request? You don’t really think the Radij political
representation at the Council will allow this to pass.” Kai did
not phrase the last statement as a question and instead let it
serve as a recrimination.

Sorreth was motionless and silent for several moments.

Perhaps he thought it would unnerve her. She waited him out,
settling into her stoniest visage. He broke fi rst. “The Ori have
never interfered with a High Council ruling.”

“The High Council has never overruled a Radij cultural

directive.” The Coalition hasn’t had time to irritate the Ori
before now, she thought. But that seemed to be changing here.
He wavered. Uncertain? A fl icker in his eyes. Kai had always
been good at reading body language. The Academy had trained
her to be even better. “What else have you assumed, Major,

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156

in this matter?” Even in Coalition, the reprimand was clear,
though cloaked as a mere question. She had just rebuked a
higher-ranking offi cer, and from his hard, angry expression,
he knew it.

“No more than what you’re doing now.” His words snapped,

like whips on fl esh. Kai held her position.

“I hardly think that offering my services as a mediator is an

assumption.”

The planes of his face hardened, in contradiction to his

smile and strange, sparkling eyes. “Of course. I misunderstood.
Perhaps it would be useful for you to speak with Guardian
n’Morif. I believe you know the way to the labs. Inform me
when you arrive.” And the vidscreen went blank.

Kai sucked air between her teeth, thinking. He had conceded

this round to her, but from what dealings she’d had with him
over the past two days, he was not the kind of man to retreat so
readily. No, he was regrouping. And she’d just agreed to visit
him in his lair. She might as well walk barefoot into a den of
rock snakes. Perhaps she’d overplayed her hand.

She stared hard at the blank vidscreen, thoughts roiling.

This was the only way to see Torri, the only way to try to get
her away from Sorreth. He had no reason to ask for Kai’s
assistance, no reason to agree to let Kai see her. She’d had to
gamble. It was as simple as that. Now she needed to strengthen
her hand.

Damn you, Torri. Kai massaged her forehead with her right

index fi nger and thumb, an attempt to fi nd a moment of peace
in this shitstorm of a day. She sank into a nearby chair and
smiled at her own weakness. Where Torri was concerned, Kai
would face the lavastorms of Hantel. Not that she’d thought
when she fi rst met her bunkmate back in their green days at
the Academy that she’d ever willingly want Torri’s company
for anything.

They were so different. Worlds apart. Torri was brash,

obnoxious, and cocky. Cyllea, she was cocky. After that fi rst
meeting, Kai wondered if she should lodge a complaint. Why

A Matter of Blood

157

had Torri been assigned to her? What had the instructors
been thinking? Kai couldn’t stand her from the fi rst meeting.
Couldn’t stand her arrogance, or how she picked and chose
Academy rules to suit her whims. She’d sneak out at night and
return just before dawn roll call, reeking of alcohol, incense,
sweat, and, on some occasions, sex. No self-discipline, no
respect for the fact that she was one of the few who had been
granted Cadet status at the Academy.

Kai stopped rubbing her head and stared again at the blank

vidscreen, remembering. That fi rst term with Torri as bunkmate
had chafed. Oh, how it chafed. But Kai was a Cadet, and Cadets
didn’t complain. So she kept her mouth shut and buried herself
in her studies. After all, once they graduated, she wouldn’t have
to deal with Torri ever again. “Your assigned bunkmate is your
closest comrade. You will eat, sleep, live, possibly die with her.
You may not like her. You may come to hate the sight of her. But
you will learn to trust her. With your life.” She hadn’t believed
that at fi rst, no matter how many times she chanted it at roll
call, no matter how many times an instructor demanded that a
Cadet recite the signifi cance of a bunkmate. She ignored it, for
the most part, because it didn’t apply to her.

And then, some time during that fi rst term, things started

to change.

Nothing specifi c, at fi rst, and it might even have started at

midterm, when reports were issued, and Kai realized that Torri
excelled in her program. So Kai started paying a little more
attention to her in their classes, and she saw that Torri threw
herself into discussions and simulations, completely focused
on every nuance, every situational shift an instructor and
computer generated. So Kai started taking more meals with
her, and she saw many other sides to her bunkmate, and by the
end of that fi rst term, Kai admitted to herself that she actually
sort of liked her, liked her humor, liked that she poked fun at
herself, and that she admitted when she was wrong. The brash
attitude, she decided, was Torri’s shield.

Midway through the second term, Kai understood why Torri

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158

needed a shield, and that family was something she would not
discuss beyond a few surface details. Kai stood and smoothed
the front of her uniform. Not so unalike after all, you and I. By
third term, Kai often accompanied Torri on her jaunts, and they
covered for each other with different instructors. They were
fi nishing each other’s sentences, spending practically every
waking moment together. And I loved her then, she thought,
staring accusingly at her refl ection in the vidscreen. But I didn’t
know how much until Shanlin.

And now Torri needed her, like she had at the Academy, like

she had in Newburg. She’d never asked for Kai’s help, never
taken advantage of Kai’s good will, never questioned her about
the choices that had brought them to opposite sides of a political
chasm. She’d never asked, but she’d always given, and Kai
knew that if she herself were in trouble, and that if something
was within Torri’s power to help her, she’d do it.

The bond they’d forged at the Academy had somehow

transcended their Cadet status, and the Collapse, and it had
translated into a new kind of intimacy they’d fi nally shared for
the fi rst time nearly two years ago in Hallifi n and then again
two months ago in Newburg, though Kai knew Torri had
fi nally snuck a kiss from her the end of their fi rst year. Kai
had been exhausted after her exams, and Torri had waited up
for her in their quarters, with food and candles. Kai still didn’t
know where she’d gotten those. Torri had tucked her in that
night, and Kai was almost asleep the moment her head hit the
pillow. Almost. A brush of lips across her mouth, then on her
forehead. She’d dreamed it, she thought. Dreamed it and
realized she wanted it as a reality, but it didn’t happen again
during their Academy days. And the dream died at Shanlin.
Only to reappear in Hallifi n two years later.

With that thought, Kai left her rooms in her father’s

holdings and headed for the southern wing. She’d not had
many dealings with Meli’s husband, but Tarkin had many
connections and many clandestine ways of making them. The
former she might not need, but the latter, defi nitely.

Kai commed Lieutenant Bal from the hangar at Tinsdale.

Bal appeared in the vidscreen, attentive but remote, as she
seemed off screen.

“Commander. How may I be of service?”
“Lieutenant. The major has agreed to allow me to speak

with Guardian n’Morif. I don’t have codes for the labs. I was
hoping you might have the time to escort me.”

“I don’t think that’s necessary. I’ll comm you the codes

over a secure channel. Link me on the standard frequency and
inform me which one you’d prefer.”

“My thanks. That will save some inconvenience on

everyone’s parts. Out.”

Bal blinked off the screen, and Kai glanced at Jindor, who

stood out of Bal’s view. She held a fi nger up, signaling for her
to wait, and she opened a link with a thought to Bal, using a
local Coalition channel.

“Lieutenant.”
“Commander. At your service.”
“Jericho Jericho Stand Down Nine,” Kai said.
“And . . . done. You should have the codes on your wrist

unit. Please meet me at the lab with which you’re familiar. I
assume you recall how to get there.”

“I do. Thank you. Out.” Kai broke the comm and addressed

Jindor. “Priestess, if you would . . . ?” She motioned at the
fl oater.

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160

Jindor climbed in and seated herself in the front

passenger seat. She buckled herself in as Kai readied herself
in the driver’s seat. Thus situated, Kai disengaged the vehicle’s
magnets and backed out of the dock then turned the fl oater’s
nose toward the exit.

She activated the dome and glanced at Jindor. “Ready?”
“Let’s go,” Jindor said, and Kai touched the dashboard then

accelerated, and they shot into the desert, toward the unclaimed
territory.

A trip that lasted barely ten minutes at Kai’s speed, but ten

minutes too long, as far as she was concerned. They didn’t have
much time before Meli played her hand. She and Jindor didn’t
speak, but she suspected that Jindor knew far more about her
than she let on, especially since Jindor told her why Torri had
come to Vegas Sector.

Kai remembered Jindor from Newburg, where Jindor had

played a different role in the opal mines at Vintooth. Clearly,
a woman of many talents, she thought. And one she needed to
bring with her on this venture. It would be much easier to get
both Torri and Jindor out at once then try to do so separately.

She decelerated at the landing pad near the underground

entrance to the labs, built into a berm, just far enough away to
avoid contamination, but even the Coalition didn’t want to take
any chances. They docked fl oaters inside. She jumped out and
entered the proper code at the thumb pad. The heavy door slid
open, and she maneuvered the vehicle inside. Once she’d eased
the fl oater into a slot against a wall, she pressed her thumb
against the pad and entered a personal locking code and helped
Jindor out, in keeping with the masquerade. Jindor was more
than capable of getting in and out of fl oaters. And probably a
lot more than that, she fi gured, or Torri wouldn’t have hired
her. She removed the water bag and meal packet she’d stashed
under the back seat. Knowing Torri, she wouldn’t trust any
food or drink here. She slid the packet into the right-hand cargo
pocket on her standard-issue trousers and the bag she carried.

Kai motioned for Jindor to precede her to the conveyor.

A Matter of Blood

161

They entered the lab-bound capsule, standing inside for the
journey. Within a minute, they’d arrived at the stop near the
lab. A hundred feet down a nearby, almost blinding white
corridor, to the door of the lab, which opened before Kai could
enter a code.

“Commander,” Bal greeted them. “And Priestess. Welcome.”

Bal exhibited no surprise that Kai had brought company and instead
motioned them farther down the corridor to yet another corridor,
this one to the left. She stopped at the fi rst door on the right.

“Has the major received any word from the High Council?”

Kai asked. Bal’s answer would determine how much time she
had before she made another bet in this game she played with
Sorreth.

“No. Perhaps another ninety minutes.” She pressed her

thumb to the keypad. “You have the code for this door as well,
Commander. Just comm me when you and the priestess are
finished.” She stepped aside, and the door slid open,
revealing a sparse, white room, the only obvious furnishings
a bench along the opposite wall—the wall Kai could see from
her angle. Please, she silently exhorted Torri. Don’t do
anything stupid.

“Many thanks, Lieutenant,” Kai said, a little louder than

convention demanded. “You’ve been most helpful.”

Bal saluted and headed back to the main corridor, steps

crisp and even. A good soldier, Kai decided. How unfortunate
that she had to work with Sorreth.

“Shar?” Jindor said as she entered the room.
Kai hesitated before she entered, gathering herself. They

were undoubtedly under surveillance, and she had to be very,
very careful. She entered, and the door slid shut behind her.
The bench ran along every wall, she noted, as she did a quick
scan before focusing on the woman to her right, who stood
next to Jindor. She caught Torri’s eye, and everything she’d felt
in Newburg cascaded down her back, like warm water after a
long day, like sunlight after a hard rain. As much as she’d tried
since Hallifi n to forget, and as much as she thought Newburg

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162

was just another fl uke, all of that disintegrated in Torri’s
presence. She’d endure much more than a lavastorm for her.

“Guardian n’Morif, I must apologize for your circumstances

here,” Kai said in Coalition, relieved that she sounded calm.
“I’m sure you’re aware that the High Council is rendering
judgment on Major Sorreth’s request as we speak.” She held
the water bag she’d brought out to Torri, who took it,
expression unreadable, though her fi ngers brushed Kai’s. A
physical connection, however brief. An acknowledgement of
their proximity, perhaps. Not a mere slip of the hand. For all
of Torri’s mercurial decisions, she wasn’t careless with her
movements.

“How long?” Torri asked, eschewing Kai’s title in Radij

tradition. She’d done her research well, and she passed as
Radij admirably, given her skin tones and dark hair. Her eyes,
though, were just starting to reabsorb whatever pigment she’d
used. Her irises were no longer the same color as her pupil, but
a shade lighter. Hard to detect, unless you were looking.

“Ninety minutes, we were told.” Maybe less. But if Meli’s

part in this escapade worked, Kai had barely sixty minutes
from the moment she and Jindor arrived at the facility. And
that time was running out.

“Sorreth conceded that I am being detained. I requested

representation under the appropriate Articles.” Torri pressed
the release on the bag and squeezed some of its contents into
her mouth.

“I have already begun arranging that. Rest assured that

I will do everything in my power to ensure that you and the
priestess are soon on your way back to Oiros.”

The hint of a smile played at the corner of Torri’s mouth,

the smile Kai felt sure Torri didn’t know she harbored, and it
meant that Torri knew something was working in her favor. “I
am most appreciative.”

Kai pulled the meal packet out of her pocket and handed

that to her, as well. Again, a brief touch and again, an ache in
her chest.

A Matter of Blood

163

“Have they injured you in any way?” Jindor this time.
“Only my pride, Priestess.” Torri smiled. She opened the

meal packet and sat down on the bench to eat before the outer
shell dissolved.

Kai reached into her pocket and activated the jammer therein.

Tarkin had more than connections. He had black market tech
tools most often used in resistance movements, designs that
had been perfected over the course of numerous campaigns,
and that could be altered easily for changing situations. Sneaky,
that Tarkin. Maybe not such a strange match for Meli after all.
Kai remained standing, her hands clasped behind her back.
Tarkin said the jammer would take care of audio, but maybe
not visuals, so she retained formality.

“We’ve got fi ve minutes,” she said in a low voice through

a smile.

Torri stopped eating and stared hard at Kai, who fought

every muscle in her body at that moment. Just a quick embrace,
she thought. But no, she couldn’t. Because she wouldn’t want
to stop there. And if the jammer didn’t take care of visuals, the
Coalition was in for quite a show if she relented to her urges.

“What did Sorreth say to you?”
“He wants a drop of my blood,” Torri said, just as quietly.

“He claims someone’s brought the parasite off Sentinel, and
he wants to develop an antidote for it.” She took another hasty
bite. “Do they have some here?”

“Yes.”
Jindor muttered something, and Torri grimaced.
“Fifteen in the soil. They survive forty-eight hours. Twenty

in the labs, in suspended animation. They’re trying to get the
soil just right, because that’ll make it easier to transport them
from Sentinel if they can’t reproduce here.”

Torri finished the meal, and the packet dissolved

in her hand. She wiped it on her pants. “Sorreth’s half-syn,
at least,” she said. “Not that it makes any difference. But it
might.”

“I guessed.”

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164

She caught Kai’s gaze, held it fast. “He was at Shanlin.”
Kai nodded, a slow, deliberate motion as if in understanding.

A show for the surveillance, though Torri’s statement fi lled her
gut like a rock. “That’s not in his fi les.”

“No. But the like-mind hive he knocked out for his latest

promotion was. And the names of those he said he took out
died years before, in the Collapse.” She stopped, still staring at
Kai. “Some at Shanlin.”

“Only someone who was there would know those names,”

Kai fi nished, directing her attention at Jindor, who smiled and
nodded, playing along. “Who is he?” Kai asked, still looking
at Jindor.

“I don’t recognize him,” Torri said. She leaned over,

bracing her arms on her thighs, and stared at the fl oor. “But the
syn job might have altered his appearance enough for that.”

A rebel. Sorreth hadn’t been Coalition at Shanlin, because

he wouldn’t have had to fabricate a like-mind hive using names
of previously dead people for a promotion. Kai smiled again.
Leverage. Meli had said that everybody had weaknesses. This
might be Sorreth’s. She checked her wrist unit. “Two minutes.”
She nodded, pretending to think. “I have a plan.”

“I fi gured.” Torri looked up at her, and a shadow of their

past caught at the corner of her mouth, caught a ride right into
Kai’s heart.

“Priestess Othne will provide the important details. We’ve

decided to call it Operation Ass in the Wind. I think you’ll
appreciate its nuances.”

Jindor cleared her throat in an effort not to laugh, and

Torri’s lips twitched, though the grin Kai knew she fought
didn’t show.

“And when this is over, Guardian, I’d like a few important

details from you, as well.” Kai tossed her statement at Torri
and bowed slightly, a show of cultural deference for Sorreth’s
monitors.

“I most defi nitely look forward to it.”
“As do I.” Kai tapped her chin with one fi nger. One minute.

A Matter of Blood

165

She bowed toward Jindor, as well. “Her eyes, Priestess. We
may have to launch our operation early.”

“Fuck,” Torri murmured. “Already?” She turned toward

Jindor, who smiled and nodded for the monitors.

“It’s begun,” Jindor said in confi rmation. “But you have to

look hard.”

Kai started to say something else but the door opened, and

Sorreth stepped in, Bal on his heels. The man had impeccable
timing. Impeccably inconvenient. He clenched and unclenched
his fi sts but Bal cast what might have been an apologetic glance
at Kai. “Commander. I’m hoping you have a very good
explanation as to why an unauthorized person is standing in
this room.”

“I do. Major,” Kai said in a tone as smooth and cold as

winter ice fl ows. “If you would join me outside, I have some
information I think you’ll fi nd most interesting.”

He glared fi rst at Jindor then at her. “I can’t wait.”
Sarcasm does carry well in Coalition, Kai thought as he

stepped back into the corridor. Kai nodded once at Jindor and
followed Sorreth, though at the door, she paused for what
might have been a second, maybe a little more, and caught
Torri’s gaze again. So close. But at least this time, the distance
between them was not self-imposed. She stepped into the
corridor. Operation Ass in the Wind was defi nitely going to
start early.

Torri remained seated on the bench, her heart still

pounding from Kai’s all-too-brief proximity. Damn her this
hold on me. But thank Cyllea for it, too. Perhaps the goddess
might see fi t to allow them to spend more than a few hours
together at a time. We all have weaknesses. The key is to keep
yours hidden while exploiting those of others. There was no
point to that, now. Kai knew her, knew her weaknesses, and
probably knew her future failings. But Kai was the one person
Torri would grant that privilege.

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166

“So, Priestess,” she said softly in Southern Edge. “What

might I expect from the commander’s plan?”

Jindor rearranged her own position and smoothed her

trousers, the way a privileged woman might when out of her
element. A nice touch to her latest role. “The major will be
apprised that you are not what you seem, to prevent him
forcing you into giving him a blood sample. She wasn’t sure
he’d allow Dal to conduct it.”

And Kai didn’t want that kind of genetic material from Torri

in Sorreth’s hands. Kai knew what blood could tell. Hair and
skin cells—easily altered at the source, and so many did that
now that they were often unreliable indicators of identity. So
Kai had made a choice. Loyalty outweighed duty. What Torri
had felt from her in Newburg—wavering in her support of the
Coalition—seemed to have morphed into a revolt. But then,
Kai was very careful about the battles she picked. And when
she made her choice, she always planned to win.

“And does the commander know the reasons for our visit

here?”

“She does.” Jindor pulled Torri against her, as if comforting

her, but it served to help mask their conversation.

“And you trusted her with that information?” Torri pressed,

half-teasing.

Jindor smiled. “Implicitly. I understand, now, why you feel

what you do.”

Torri ignored that and instead asked, “What am I to expect

when Sorreth returns?” And he will, she surmised. Oh, he will.

“He’ll know you’re not who you seem to be.”
“And you?”
“Still a priestess, until he decides otherwise. If I’m guessing

correctly, we have about thirty minutes.”

“Until?”
“We have to vacate this facility.”
What was Kai up to? Torri started to say something further

but Jindor gave her a fi nal squeeze and released her just as the
door opened again.

A Matter of Blood

167

“My lead,” she said, and Torri stood as Sorreth entered,

followed closely by Bal, as always. Kai was last in, and her
expression was unreadable.

“Guardian n’Morif,” Sorreth said, as if greeting a comrade.

“We have some things to discuss, you and I.”

“Major?” Jindor questioned.
“I’m afraid, Priestess, that your loyal temple servant is not

who you think.”

Torri dared not look at Kai. She focused on Sorreth. “Please,

elaborate on your accusation.”

He moved closer, so that he was but a foot from her. He

had a slight height advantage, but if he thought his actions
would intimidate her, he was disappointed. “Come now,
mercenary,” he said in a conciliatory tone, though the way
he held himself told her that he was not at all in a compro-
mising mood. “You’re as Radij as I am. Which is to say, not
at all.”

“Shar?” Jindor said, managing to sound both confused and

concerned.

“It’s not what you think,” Torri said before Sorreth could

respond.

“What does he mean? Of course you’re Radij.”
“Respectfully, Priestess, she is not. Most likely she’s a

mercenary who sought employment at the temple. Or perhaps
she’s merely a bandit who plans to rob Cyllea of whatever
material wealth one can fi nd at Oiros.” He clasped his hands
behind his back. “Who do you serve?”

“Surely there’s an error, Major. We checked the guardian’s

credentials when she requested service with us—”

“And I’m sure those checked out pretty well. She’s

obviously good at covering her ass, to make it this far.” To
Torri, he repeated, “Who do you serve?”

Torri looked over his shoulder and stared at a spot on the

wall. Silence fi lled the room for a few long moments.

“No matter,” he said with an exaggerated shrug. “We’ll fi nd

out. Bal, take the priestess and whomever this is—” he

Andi Marquette

168

gestured at Torri as if she were a servant, “to Lab Three. The
commander will accompany.”

“Yes, sir. Priestess, if you would? And . . . ah . . . Guardian.”

Bal moved into the corridor and waited for them to join her
before she guided them back toward the lab near the conveyor.
Torri kept her eyes on Bal’s back. Kai was just inches from her
left arm, Jindor inches from her right. The three of them could
easily overpower Bal. But then what? Sorreth would put the
place into lockdown and Kai—no. Kai was already in violation
of Coalition protocol with regard to commanding offi cers. She
was deliberately misleading one, in collusion with what Sorreth
suspected was a known criminal element. The ramifi cations
of taking Bal down were too high a price, and she stifl ed the
creeping panic-edged claustrophobia she invariably felt when
she had to deal so closely with Coalition.

Should she risk a ping to Saryl? She caught Kai in her

peripheral vision. Maybe that, too, was risky. She was, after all,
under increasing suspicion. With any luck, Jindor had already
done it, and Saryl and Jann were busy fi guring out an escape
plan. But how they’d know what to do given where she was
now . . . focus. When in immediate danger, trying to predict an
outcome is futile and wastes energy. Your fi rst concern is to
assess each moment as it occurs, not whether it will occur.

Bal took them past the lab where Sorreth had initially

questioned Torri, and the corridor continued even farther into
the unclaimed territory. How deep underground were they?
And did these walls really protect them from the toxicity? Bal
stopped, fi nally, at a door near the end of the corridor, marked
“3” in Coalition. She thumbed the keypad, and the door
opened.

“Please,” she said, and waited for them all to enter before

she did, as well, and closed the door. She took up a post near it,
her body blocking the inside keypad.

Torri did a quick survey of her new surroundings. Pretty

much a larger version of the previous lab, though this one held
fi ve examination tables. For a Coalition bioresearch project,

A Matter of Blood

169

this one seemed woefully understaffed. She had seen only two
other people since she’d gotten here, and neither were techs.
Perhaps they were working in other labs, thinking up worse
things to do to people than inject them with a potentially
deadly parasite. Did the Ori know about this facility? About
the experiments going on here? And if so, did they actually
condone it? That didn’t seem possible, and she decided there
was something else here that she was missing.

“My apologies, Priestess, for these revelations,” Kai said.

“This has no doubt been a most trying situation.”

If you only knew. Torri studied Kai surreptitiously, and she

marveled at how Kai affected her physically and emotionally,
as visceral now as when she realized how deeply she felt for
her at the Academy.

“We’ll do our best to ensure your safe passage home,” Kai

was saying, “once we ascertain the nature of this situation.”

“I appreciate your manners, Commander. Would that

everyone comported themselves thus.” Jindor smiled, and
Kai inclined her head in acknowledgement. Torri regarded her
again for a moment, but looked away when Kai shifted her
gaze toward her.

The door opened, and Sorreth entered, accompanied by four

others dressed identically in tan trousers and shirts of a material
that looked lightweight. Lab personnel, Torri deduced. Maybe
the only ones here. Two men, two women. They all looked
human, though one of the women might have had Sendalian
connections, from the shape of her eye orbits.

“You’ll be pleased to know that the High Council has

overruled the Directive and I am allowed a blood sample from
you,” Sorreth announced. The techs fl anked him, men on his
left, women on his right. “Make this easy on yourself.”

“The Council’s ruling is invalid,” Torri challenged. “As

you’ve determined, I am not Radij. The ruling was for a Radij
subject.”

Sorreth’s lips twitched in what might have been a smirk.

“I don’t need a Council ruling to conduct a standard medical

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170

protocol for purposes of identifi cation,” he countered. “True,
you’re not Radij. But you are unidentifi ed, and as a military
offi cer in charge of this facility, I can do whatever necessary if
I feel security has been breached.” He motioned with his chin
at one of the examination tables. “Will I need to ask my aides
here to help you up?”

“Major.” Kai moved closer. “Regardless of whomever this

is, there are certain procedures to follow—”

He turned to face her, a slow, deliberate motion that

reminded Torri of the crouching of a predator before it attacked.
“And I’m following them. This individual has misrepresented
herself not only to me, but to you and other holders, as well
as to a temple representative. I am authorized to identify her.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “By. Any. Means. Necessary.” Without
taking his eyes off Kai, he spoke to his techs. “The mercenary
seems to have a problem understanding my suggestion. Please
help her onto the table.”

The two male techs moved toward Torri, wary, and she

tensed. Sorreth and Bal were armed with pistols. The techs
weren’t, but they probably carried stunners or prods.
Sorreth wasn’t so careless that they wouldn’t have weapons.
She glanced at Jindor then at Kai.

“I request offi cial authorization,” Kai said, her tone level

though her expression was grim.

“And you shall have it. When I’m done here.”
The techs gripped Torri’s arms, one on either side.
“Under the Articles of Detention—” she started.
“Fuck your Articles.” He whirled toward her, venom in his

voice though his face carried no indication of it. “I tire of this
game. Strap her down,” he said to his techs.

“Major,” Jindor said, steel in her voice, “whatever her

identity, she is still a temple representative, and as such, can
request representation from Oiros with regard to this
matter.”

The techs looked from Jindor to Sorreth, waiting for his

response to her statement.

A Matter of Blood

171

“Ah, yes,” he said. “The temple. What will I fi nd, Priestess,

if I send my hunters deeper into the temple registry?”

Torri clenched her teeth. Sorreth may have outmaneuvered

them all. The techs’ fi ngers dug into her arms. She’d have
bruises later, if she lived to care about it.

“Is it Coalition practice to insult a member of an established

temple?” Jindor shot back, words like ice.

“No.” And he grinned, his amber eyes fl ashing in pleasure

and triumph. “Because I fi nd it hard to believe that is, in fact,
what you are. Put her on a table, too,” he ordered the female
techs. “Time to solve this mystery.”

Torri went limp, and the guards holding her arms relaxed

their grips. It was enough. She slammed her right elbow into
the abdomen of one, and he gasped and doubled over. She
brought her knee up to his chin and pivoted away as his head
snapped upward. He stumbled back against one of the tables.

The three other techs stepped away from her. Clearly not

soldiers. Sorreth had made a mistake there. Torri dodged the
clumsy attack of the remaining male tech and easily knocked
a female tech to the fl oor. Jindor was yelling at her, pointing
at Sorreth. Torri ducked, heat from Sorreth’s laser practically
singeing her eyebrows. It completed its journey to the opposite
wall amidst a hail of fragments and the smell of molten metal.

And then Kai knocked his arm as he fi red again, and the

shot blew a hole in the closest examination table. Torri rolled
to her feet but Bal was faster.

“Please,” she said, the barrel of her pistol not an inch from

Torri’s forehead. “Stop. Hands up.”

Torri complied. What now? She rested her palms on the top

of her head. Alarms sounded in the corridor, no doubt because
Sorreth’s shots had compromised security. Cyllea help them
all if the shots had compromised safety, as well. Jindor looked
from Torri to Kai and back again, expression unreadable.

“I will have your head, Tinsdale.” Sorreth reached down

for his pistol—Kai must’ve gotten it away from him—but
she kicked it away. It slid past Jindor and clunked against

A Matter of Blood

173

an examination table. He straightened, furious. “Your career is
over,” he added between clenched teeth.

She stared at him, expressionless. “Hardly. I don’t believe

I’m the one who opened fi re in a closed lab facility buried in
a toxic environment. Or did the major neglect to learn safety
protocol with regard to biohazards?”

The door opened, and another tech entered, accompanied

by two soldiers, one of whom was Hyacin.

“Major. Commander,” she said as she saluted.
The rank-and-fi le soldier did as well, and stood at attention

nearby. From his stance, he was green. And armed. Easy
enough to relieve him of his pistol. But Bal—she was a more
seasoned type and getting past her was another matter. Hyacin,
now, as well.

“Captain,” Kai responded. “Did the major’s weapons

practice breach the structure?”

Hyacin’s eyes widened just as the fi rst guard Torri had

disabled groaned and rolled over. “No. It’s intact.”

“A blessing from Cyllea, no doubt,” Kai said, grim. “Help

him.” She directed the newcomer tech to attend to the man
Torri had brought down. She focused then on Sorreth, and even
in Coalition, her tone could have dropped the temperature in
the room several degrees. “Major, as I’m sure you’re aware,
the discharge of a weapon in a life support environment
is a serious breach of military and civilian protocol. Captain,
please retrieve the major’s weapon and secure it.”

Hyacin hesitated and fl icked a glance at Sorreth, who

turned his glare briefl y to her then back to Kai. Torri kept her
own eyes on Hyacin and prepared for another attack. But the
captain made the right choice. She picked up Sorreth’s gun and
disengaged its power cell before she slid it into the belt at her
waist. Jindor exhaled softly as Bal lowered her weapon and in
turn, Torri lowered her arms. This couldn’t have been part of
Kai’s script.

“Thank you, Captain. If you would please remove lab

personnel from this room, I’d be most grateful.” Her tone left

Andi Marquette

174

no room for argument, and if Hyacin thought to do so, Torri
knew Kai would dismember her verbally. She’d seen Kai
angry before, but unlike many, Kai’s emotional control
solidifi ed into an impermeable surface, like onyx. Hard, cold,
and sharp. Torri silently entreated Hyacin to make the right
choice again. She did.

“Yes, Commander. Shall I request assistance from the

Council?” She sounded almost pleased, and Torri studied her.
Sorreth clearly hadn’t made many friends among his staff.

“Not yet. I’ll inform you if such is necessary.”
Hyacin saluted and motioned for all the techs to leave. The

one Torri had injured left under his own power. The door slid
shut, but Bal remained.

“Lieutenant?” Kai kept her attention on Sorreth. “Is there a

problem?”

“No, Commander. In accordance with protocol, may I serve

as a witness to this conversation?”

“Certainly. Please disengage your weapon.”
“Commander?”
“I gave you an order, Lieutenant.” Kai’s eyes never left

Sorreth’s.

Bal reached for her pistol.
“I’m ranking offi cer here,” Sorreth said. “She retains her

weapon.”

Kai moved so fast that Sorreth didn’t have time to take

another breath after his statement. Her left hand closed on his
neck, and she whirled him around and slammed him against
the wall next to the door. Torri saw what might have been
surprise in Sorreth’s eyes.

“Disengage your weapon, Lieutenant,” Kai said. “That is

an order.”

Torri glanced from Kai to Bal. What was Kai playing? She

shifted her weight, prepared to engage Bal if such were
warranted, but Bal removed the power disc from her pistol and
tossed it on the fl oor. It landed near one of the lab tables. Torri
relaxed, but only slightly. Bal’s choice might be temporary.

A Matter of Blood

175

“Bal—” Sorreth started, but Kai adjusted her position so

that her left forearm pushed against his neck, keeping him
pinned. She drew her own pistol with her free right hand and
held its muzzle to his cheek. He didn’t struggle.

“Cyllea,” Jindor muttered at the tableau. Torri silently

concurred. Kai had gone way off-script, and all Torri could do
at this point was try to follow her lead and hope Jindor did so,
as well. This was a game she had never seen Kai play.

“Tinsdale,” Sorreth managed. “You’re fi nished.” He grinned

at her, and Torri clenched her fists to keep herself from
completing what Kai started.

“I think not.” She pressed the pistol harder into his face, and

he winced. “Tell me about Elgrin.”

“What about it?” He was wary now.
Kai stepped back suddenly, and he staggered forward a

half-step before he regained his balance. “Hands on your head.
Was it diffi cult, killing people who were already dead?”

He stared, now, and for once he was not smiling. He slowly

rested his hands on the top of his head.

“Nice promotion, for wiping out a hive of like-minds,” Kai

pushed, her pistol still trained on him. “Too bad they had been
dead for years.”

Sorreth didn’t respond right away, and Torri imagined him

running through all kinds of scenarios in his head. She checked
Bal’s position. The lieutenant hadn’t moved, but that didn’t
mean she wouldn’t.

“I’m wondering how valuable it would be, to inform your

superiors that you were at Shanlin, but on the wrong side,” Kai
said.

Bal either inhaled or exhaled loud enough to alert Torri,

who checked her position. Bal remained where she stood,
staring hard at Sorreth, who looked at Kai’s pistol then at her
face. “What do you want?”

He didn’t deny it. Torri studied him again, trying to place

him, though there was a chance she didn’t know him. There
were many people at Shanlin. Had he been injured and rebuilt?

Andi Marquette

176

Or just rebuilt to escape detection? Had he genuinely
sympathized with the rebels? Or maybe he was just an
opportunist. That was more likely. Regardless, the Coalition
would want to know everything he saw at Shanlin, and if he
wasn’t willing to talk, they’d fi nd a way to make him do so. And
maybe he had other secrets he wasn’t willing to share with them.

“This isn’t about me,” Kai said. “Your choice, Major.” She

put a sarcastic emphasis on his title. “You can fi le a report on
what happened here and hope somebody actually believes
your slagged ass, because I’ll fi le a rebuttal, complete with my
fi ndings and the histories of those names you resurrected for
your promotion. Or you can keep your mouth shut and hope
nobody digs into your past any more than I have.”

Smart. But Sorreth was the kind of man who enjoyed

revenge. Slow, nasty, painful revenge. Did Kai have something
else on him? Please, Kai. You need more. Torri waited, tensing
for his reaction.

He leaned back against the wall, keeping his hands on his

head, and he smiled again. “I have connections.”

“I have no doubt. Mine are better.”
The smile faltered. “What do you mean?”
“I’m not here just because you wanted my experience or

because this facility happens to fall partially on my family’s
property.”

His smile disappeared. “You’re a tail.”
“Something like that. Certain parties on the Council weren’t

convinced about the legitimacy of this operation.”

Torri checked on Bal, who still had not moved. She looked

again at Kai, who had either just pulled off one of the best
bluffs she had ever seen, or she really was in double-agent role
with the Coalition. Given Kai’s actions in Newburg, Torri was
leaning toward the former.

Sorreth laughed softly, but there was no mirth in the sound.

“Well, Tinsdale, I was wrong about you. I could use a woman
of your clear talents. Any chance we could come to a different
understanding?”

A Matter of Blood

177

“None.”
“Too bad.” And then Sorreth moved, faster than Kai had.

Torri barely registered his motions. Syn. He’s mostly syn, was
her thought as he fl ung himself to his left and slammed his
hand on the keypad. Kai fi red at it, but too late. The door slid
open and he was already in the corridor and, from his motions,
barreling deeper into the facility. Kai let him go, and
Torri remained where she was, waiting for her next move. Kai
checked her wrist unit.

“Let’s go,” she said to Jindor and Torri. “Now.”
Bal wavered.
“Now,” Kai snapped. Bal followed Torri and Jindor into the

corridor.

“Commander, permission to pursue.”
Kai regarded Bal for a moment. “Granted. Here.” She handed

her pistol to her. “It’s armed. Make it fast, for your safety. He
may try a breach.”

Bal nodded once and headed down the corridor in the

direction Sorreth had presumably gone, running with smooth,
clean strides.

Torri stared after her, then back at Kai. “I’m thinking that

wasn’t in the plan,” she said in Empire.

“That’s what I like about you,” Kai said with a half-smile.

“You’re quick like that.”

“So are you, apparently.”
Kai motioned at them. “We’ll talk about that later. Come

on. We’ve got about fi ve minutes.”

Torri didn’t question her. Kai was up to something, and

even though she’d had to take a detour plan-wise, this
next element wasn’t something that was fl exible. Kai started
jogging in the opposite direction from Bal. Jindor and Torri
followed, and Kai picked up speed until they were sprinting.
The corridor remained empty, and Torri once again wondered
where everybody was. A facility this size surely had more staff
. . . something exploded. Something either aboveground or
below, because it was more a visceral rumbling than a sound.

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178

An alarm blared, short, insistent blasts. “Breach,” an emotionless
and genderless voice started to intone.

Had Sorreth blown a hatch? If he had, he no doubt had an

escape plan for himself. And what about Bal? Maybe she was
helping him. Torri threw a glance over her shoulder, half-
expecting to see Bal chasing them, taking aim at them with
Kai’s gun. Nothing. Not even techs. Another muted explosion.

“Fuck.” Kai stopped and checked her wrist unit. “We’re

good for another ten minutes, before this section locks down.”

“How far to the conveyor?” Jindor asked, breathing heavily.
“Quarter-mile.” Kai grimaced. “But there’s a possibility

that the outer access automatically shut down.”

“We’ll worry about that when we get there,” Torri said, as

a third explosion rumbled around them. “Slag it, how many
hatches is he blowing?”

Kai chewed her lip for a moment. “It may not be Sorreth.”
Torri stared at her.
“It’s probably Meli.”
“Meli? Your own sister is bombing us?”
“It’s not what you think. I’ll explain later.” And she grabbed

Torri’s arm and started pulling her down the corridor again
before Torri could offer anything further. Jindor followed, and
they were running again, hard and fast. Torri’s lungs burned,
but she ran even harder until the conveyor appeared, a hundred
yards away.

“Eight minutes,” Kai said between gasps. They piled into

the conveyor vehicle, and Kai pounded in the code as Torri
grabbed onto a handle. The magnets engaged, and they shot
forward and then upward. Just a few more seconds . . .

The vehicle lurched to a stop. Kai entered the code again.

Nothing. She tried again. Still nothing. Another explosion
echoed around them, and Torri heard pebbles and dirt rain on
the metal roof above.

“Open the door,” she said.
Kai pressed on the door release. It opened a couple of inches.
“Help me.” Torri inserted her fi ngers through and braced

A Matter of Blood

179

herself, pulling on one side while Jindor did the same on the
other. The door reluctantly opened a few more inches.

“Fucking slagging—” Torri pulled harder. The door opened

wider, fi rst on her side then on Jindor’s. A dirt wall greeted her,
a couple of feet from her face. Thank Cyllea the tunnel had
been built to accommodate incoming and outgoing conveyors.
“Go,” she yelled. She shoved her left shoulder against her half
of the door and held Jindor’s side with her right arm. Jindor
slid beneath Torri’s arm into the space beyond the conveyor
and moved out of the way. Kai did the same, and when she was
out of the way, Torri threw herself out of the doorway against
the wall. The doors slammed shut. She exhaled in relief, and
they started moving up the tunnel. The dim emergency light
strips above them fl ickered then continued burning. But for
how long?

Jindor took the lead, and Torri let her. Malrusians had better

vision in conditions like these. Kai brought up the rear.

“We’ve got to stop meeting this way,” Torri shot back at Kai

after a few seconds, needing to assure herself that Kai really
was with her again.

“Pity. I was getting used to it.”
“Newburg didn’t turn you off tight, cramped tunnels?”
“Afraid not,” Kai retorted. And then, under her breath, but

loud enough for Torri to hear, “Where you’re concerned.”

Torri smiled but another explosion rumbled behind them,

dislodging more dirt from the roof. It coated her hair, and she
brushed at it, trying to keep it out of her eyes. She opened a
commlink to Saryl, but got nothing. “Jindor, try Birrit.” No
point to calling her “Priestess” here.

“I already did.”
“And?”
“Nothing.”
Torri kept her link open regardless. “Can you reach Meli?”

she asked Kai.

“Tried already.” Her tone said she’d failed.
“Quiet.” Jindor stopped.

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180

Torri and Kai did, as well. Torri strained her ears. The soft

whisper of dirt and pebbles slipping to the fl oor. The dying
rumbles of an explosion. Kai’s breathing . . . and a mechanical
humming, getting louder.

“Conveyor,” Kai said. “Go.”
She pushed Torri forward. Jindor was already moving, and

Torri worked to keep up, her boots slipping in the loose rubble
that littered the tunnel’s fl oor. The humming increased in
volume. At that rate, the second vehicle was going to hit the
fi rst—hard—and send it right at them. Torri doubled her efforts,
but felt she wasn’t making much progress in the soft dirt.

The sound of metal on metal fi lled the tunnel as the second

conveyor rammed the first, and Torri imagined the latter
hurtling toward them.

“Fuck,” she yelled, scrabbling up an incline in the muted

light.

“We’re out of reach,” Kai managed between gasps. “Keep

going.”

Torri did, kicking her boots into the dirt and throwing

herself upward. She heard Jindor some yards ahead, doing the
same thing, but she didn’t look up, afraid she’d lose her
footing.

“Everyone clear?” Jindor called.
“Yes,” Torri responded. “Go on. Make sure the entrance

doesn’t lock down.”

“Affi rmative.” The sounds of Jindor’s movements increased

and then faded. She was faster than Torri had thought.

The tunnel had started to level off, and Torri stopped for

a moment, waiting for Kai, who was a couple paces behind.
Torri started to reach for her when a fl ash of light back down
the tunnel caught her attention. She threw herself against Kai,
and they both hit the ground, rolling a few feet back down
the incline. She ended up on top of Kai as the gelpulse thudded
into the wall where Kai had been standing and exploded,
blowing a small crater into the dirt. Dust fi lled the corridor, and
she shut her eyes, keeping Kai’s head covered with her chest.

A Matter of Blood

181

“Sorreth,” Kai muttered as she spat dirt out of her mouth

and cleared her eyes with her free hand.

“Or Bal.” Torri peered back down the tunnel, but couldn’t

see anything through the dust. Except another fl ash. “Down.”
She lowered her head again, and another gelpulse hit the roof
above, bringing a pile of dirt down on top of them. It engulfed
her back, knocking the wind out of her. She coughed and rolled
off Kai in an effort to remove dirt from herself and keep it off
Kai.

“I can’t see who it is,” Kai said.
“Doesn’t matter.” Torri got to her feet and pulled Kai up

with her. She heard someone approaching behind them, foot-
steps in the dirt. One person, from the sound. Maybe fi fty
yards. Too close. And neither of them with a pistol. Not even
her damn dirk. But they did have some cover from the dust.
Torri kicked at the tunnel’s fl oor, and Kai did the same before
they started moving forward again. But the footsteps behind
them were drawing closer.

“Sorreth.” Kai increased her speed.
Torri didn’t answer. Kai had to be right. Sorreth’s syn parts

had given him some extra abilities, as he’d demonstrated in the
lab. His voice fl oated toward them.

“Tinsdale,” he called in a sing-song tone.
Torri caught Kai’s eye momentarily as they ran. Neither

responded to him. The tunnel widened a bit here, about ten feet
across instead of eight.

“I know that’s you,” Sorreth continued.
A gelpulse whirred above them and took out a chunk of

wall up ahead, to their left.

“The next one hits your back,” Sorreth called. “And I can

see you clearly. So stop.”

Torri gripped Kai’s arm and hauled her to a stop as she

pinged Jindor. Sorreth wasn’t bluffi ng. He could see them,
even through the dust and bad lighting. He wouldn’t miss, as
close as he was now. Not even thirty feet. He stood looking at
them, smiling.

Andi Marquette

182

“I was at Shanlin, Commander,” he said. “As I’m sure

you’re now aware. And the injuries I sustained ensured that
when I was rebuilt, most of me works much better than I did in
the past. So there’s no point to running, because I’ll catch you.”
He took a few more steps and halted again, about fi fteen feet
away. In his right hand he held the pistol he’d been fi ring with.
In his left he held a smaller pistol. And this one he brandished
at them.

“I don’t know who you contacted,” he said in a much too

congenial tone. “And it will take me a while to rebuild. And I’ll
make sure that every last bit of land in your family’s holdings
is relinquished.”

Kai didn’t say anything, but Torri almost felt her anger

blazing out of her pores. It’ll take Sorreth a while to rebuild?
Just Sorreth? Was the facility not Coalition-sanctioned after
all?

“The work must go on.” He held up the pistol in his left

hand. “Don’t worry. I’ll tell people you were a willing
participant in the pursuit of scientifi c knowledge.” He pointed
the pistol at them. A pistol that looked a little different than any
of the weaponry with which she was familiar.

And then Torri realized what it was. “You already had a

prototype,” she said, trying to delay him. She pinged Jindor
again. “A means of long-distance injection.” Jindor pinged her
back. She was on her way.

“Smart, for a mercenary,” he said. “Too bad I don’t want

this wasted. Otherwise, I’d let you participate in my quest for
knowledge, as well.”

Torri placed herself in front of Kai. He wouldn’t waste

the shot on her, and if he used a gelpulse, it would blow right
through her and hit Kai, as well. She was counting on his sadistic
streak. He wanted to watch Kai suffer with the parasite from
Sentinel, so he wouldn’t risk killing her through other means.
And she was counting on Kai grasping what she was doing.

He lowered the injection pistol a bit, and frowned. “And

what bit of your past is Tinsdale using for this touching display?”

A Matter of Blood

183

“Maybe I just don’t like you much.” Torri heard someone

approaching from behind, moving quickly. Jindor would know
he was armed, and she would know what his weapons were.
If she were half as intuitive as most Malrusians, Jindor would
have to know.

A pistol discharged from behind Kai, and the projectile

caught Sorreth in the right shoulder. Standard issue blunt force
bullet. His arm jerked, and he sank to one knee, dropping his
gelpulse pistol.

“Drop the other one,” Jindor said.
“Will wonders never cease? An armed temple representative.”
“Drop it.”
“Of course.” And he pulled the trigger.

No time. Torri knew Kai was pulling her to the ground, but

she knew, too, how ineffective that was. Sorreth had been
aiming right at her. And in the split second before both she
and Kai hit the tunnel fl oor, in the split second that a fl ash
of movement crossed her fi eld of vision, she wondered how
painful it would be to die this way.

And then they landed, and Kai grunted on impact. Torri

rolled off her, trying to get clear in case the injector didn’t
penetrate. It might have broken on her clothing, and that meant
the parasite was loose somewhere.

“Damn,” Sorreth said, still on his knees. “I suppose Cyllea

will have no blessings for me now.”

Jindor. Jindor had taken the shot. She, too, was on her knees,

and what looked like blood stained her left pectoral. She looked
up at Torri and managed a smile. “Caught me,” she said.

“Unfortunately,” Sorreth said.
Torri ignored him and moved to Jindor. “Did it break?”
Jindor nodded. “On impact.”
“Then it worked,” Sorreth said. He laughed and started to get

to his feet but Kai picked up Jindor’s pistol and trained it on him.

“Stay there,” she said.
He did, still laughing. “It actually worked.”
“Shut up,” Kai ordered.
Torri leaned in closer to Jindor, fi ghting panic. “Can I get it

out?” Should she try? Would Jindor’s Malrusian heritage really

A Matter of Blood

185

protect her? What if the parasite had mutated here on Earth,
and now it was different?

“Too late for that. It’s in my bloodstream.” Jindor gingerly

pulled the torn edges of her shirt’s fabric away from the
entrance wound, about the size of her thumbnail. “The
projectile dissolved once it penetrated.”

“What, then?”
“Nothing. We wait.”
“I’m timing this,” Sorreth announced. “How long it takes

to kill you.”

Kai backhanded him across the face, and his head snapped

to the right. “Shut the fuck up. Next time I shoot you in the gut.
And I time how long it takes for you to die.”

He shut up.
“There’s nothing you can do,” Jindor said softly. “Don’t get

too close. It might try to leave before it dies, and it’ll look
for a new host,” she said in a low voice, so Sorreth wouldn’t
hear.

Torri ground her teeth, frustrated. “Are you sure about this?”
“Nothing’s ever sure,” she said, smiling.
Damn. Torri reached for the hole in Jindor’s skin, then

pulled it back. Completely helpless. She couldn’t do anything.
If something went wrong here, if Jindor’s heritage didn’t block
the parasite . . .

“It’s a chance I was willing to take,” Jindor said, her words

interrupted with short pants. She was in pain. “Move back.”

Torri obeyed, more frustrated now and worried. She looked

at Kai, who kept her attention on Sorreth. They were going to
have to kill him, though at this point, she relished the idea.

“Fuck,” she muttered. A ping. Saryl’s signal. Torri pinged

back just as Jann’s voice echoed down the tunnel.

“Priestess?” he shouted.
“Here,” Torri yelled back. She stood just as he appeared a

few dozen feet away, at the top of another incline in the tunnel.
He half-jogged down to them, kicking up clouds of dirt and
dust.

Andi Marquette

186

“Figures,” he said when he arrived. “Where there’s a

tunnel, no doubt you’re in it.” His gaze fell on Jindor, and his
grin faded.

“Parasite,” Torri said, her concern for Jindor overshadowing

her relief at seeing him.

“Radij?”
She nodded.
“How was it introduced?”
“Prototype bioweapon, courtesy of the major over there.”

Torri gestured at Sorreth.

Jann muttered something foul and squatted next to Jindor.

“Do you want a painkiller?”

“No,” she managed. She held out her left arm and pulled

her sleeve up to expose her forearm. Jann pulled a lightstick
out of his pocket and held it over her skin. Torri leaned in to
watch. A pinprick of blood, at fi rst. And then a thin stream.
Jindor panted with pain.

“You want me to cut?” Jann asked. “Give it more room?”
“No,” she gasped. “Don’t let it leave my blood.” She pointed

at something in the stream of blood, an anomalous bubble that
Torri wouldn’t have recognized as anything incongruous.

“Is it out?” Jann took his portable med kit out of his left

cargo pocket and opened it.

“Yes.” Jindor relaxed, and her breathing returned to normal.

“But it’s not dead yet.”

Jann removed a vial the size of his index fi nger from his

medkit and held it next to the tiny bubble that Jindor had pointed
out. Using the stopper, he gently knocked the parasite into the
vial, blood and all, and sealed it. Torri helped Jindor to her feet,
so relieved she almost shouted in triumph.

“Cyllea is indeed great,” Torri announced to Sorreth. “She

has spared her servant.”

Sorreth stared at Jindor. “Impossible.” He started to get up

but Kai motioned with her pistol, and he stayed on his knees.
“It’s not possible. I’ve seen them kill—” He stopped and glared
fi rst at Jindor then at Kai.

A Matter of Blood

187

Which might explain the absence of techs in his facility,

Torri thought.

Kai glanced at her wrist unit and then at Torri before

focusing on Sorreth again.

“How long before contamination?” Torri asked.
“Ten minutes, give or take. Unless someone thought to

implement sealing procedures before vacating.” She looked
pointedly at Sorreth. He only glared at her, and Torri knew he
hadn’t.

“Then let’s go,” Jann said. He picked up both of Sorreth’s

pistols. “I say leave him.” He looked at Torri for confi rmation.

“Agreed. Commander?”
“We leave him. If he attempts to follow, shoot him.” She

nodded at Jann.

“Gladly,” Jann said. “Let’s go. There’s transport just up

ahead.”

“I knew there was a reason I kept you around,” Torri said,

waiting on Kai and Jindor.

“And I thought it was my wit.” He motioned Jindor to go

ahead. Kai offered her a hand but Jindor shook her head and
moved up the incline under her own power. Torri waited for
Jann, keeping her eyes on Sorreth, who remained on his knees,
staring at her. Feral, almost.

“You were at Shanlin,” he said suddenly.
A chill wrapped around her spine. “Lots of people were.”
“Rendego.” He smiled, mirthless. “That was your name,

wasn’t it? But you didn’t use it then. I remember your
squadron. You’re Academy trained.”

Torri’s breath caught in her chest, and what felt like a vise

closed around her rib cage. Dangerous, to leave him alive.
Much too dangerous.

“Tinsdale is, too. So maybe you met there. Or maybe you

were both at Shanlin.”

Jann raised the gelpulse pistol and fired, but missed,

because Sorreth was that fast. The projectile slammed into the
wall and cratered. Sorreth had rolled aside, and now he was up,

Andi Marquette

188

bounding past both Torri and Jann, even in the cramped
confi nes, running up the incline Jann had so recently come
down.

“Kai!” Torri shouted. But Sorreth was so fast. Kai turned

too late—and something whizzed past Torri’s cheek and in a
blinding instant, Sorreth’s torso exploded in a kaleidoscope
of red, grey, and creamy white. What was left of his body
collapsed at Kai’s feet, splattering her chest and legs. She had
turned her face away automatically, sparing that part of her
from bits of the major.

No one moved in the silence that accompanied Sorreth’s

demise. And then Kai swore and wiped what she could off as
Torri turned toward the newcomer.

“Nice shot.” Jann looked past Torri at the figure

jogging toward them, diffi cult to see at fi rst in the weak light
and through the dust.

“Sorry about that,” Bal said. “I tried to get here sooner.” She

holstered her pistol and looked at Kai. “I implemented sealing
procedures, Commander. We are assured eight minutes.”

Kai raised an eyebrow. “Well done. Let’s go.” She kicked a

piece of fl esh off her boot, grimacing.

“Birrit’s not far,” Jann cut in. “We should have time.” He

moved so he could take the lead. Torri waited for Bal, then
continued after Kai, stepping over Sorreth’s legs. Bal ignored
his remains. The group continued in silence, and when Torri
saw the shape of a fl oater up ahead with Saryl in it, she only
smiled.

Torri stood on the roof in the evening wind, watching the

sun drag day with it behind the western buttes and rock spires.
Meli was no doubt entertaining the rest of her crew again, for
the second time since they’d arrived yesterday, ensuring that
a servant of Cyllea and her transport agents were well-wined
and well-dined. And in Jindor’s case, something else indeed.
She grinned, almost envying Meli. The sound of approaching

A Matter of Blood

189

footsteps pulled her from her thoughts, but she didn’t turn.
Kai was in session with Tarkin, Kaivan, and a Council
representative, and she knew the sound of Kai’s movements
better in some ways than Kai’s family did. This was not Kai.

“Trader.” Bal addressed her in Empire.
“Lieutenant,” Torri acknowledged without turning, not

surprised. In the moments after Sorreth’s death, she’d guessed
that Bal had been waiting for an opportunity to take care of him
the way she did.

Bal joined her, gazing across the desert. “I wanted to thank

you,” she said after a while in which shadows stretched farther,
almost reaching the Far Seek at its position on the landing pad
below.

Torri threw a sidelong glance at her, waiting. Bal was dressed

in casual tan trousers and shirt, and looked almost feminine.

“There were many losses at Shanlin.” Bal kept her eyes on

the sunset. “And some of them were mine.”

“My sympathies,” Torri offered, though wary. She knew

that pain.

“We trusted him.” Bal crossed her arms, hugging herself.

“We shouldn’t have.”

“Did he know you were there?”
Bal shook her head. “No. I, too, am altered. He didn’t

recognize me.”

Clearly not. Sorreth would have killed her some way Torri

didn’t want to imagine.

“But I remembered his voice,” Bal said, “which he kept.

And I ensured I was assigned to him.”

Torri made a noncommittal noise. She understood

vengeance, too, especially in the dark months after the
Collapse. But she also understood how it fed and how
voracious its appetite could be. “How long?”

“Six months. I served elsewhere prior to that. And elsewhere

before that.” Bal’s tone was hard, and bore the emptiness of
emotions long since gone cold, like the mercenaries and
assassins Torri had dealt with since the Academy. Life and

Andi Marquette

190

death were business dealings, sometimes colored with personal
feelings, most often not. Bal, she guessed, was a hunter, part of
the like-mind networks, charged with protecting those through
any means necessary. Sorreth had been a threat, and Torri
wasn’t sorry he was gone, but Bal was more dangerous than
he had been in some ways because she was so unobtrusive, so
unassuming. Sorreth had never seen her coming. A ghost, with
many different pasts. Belief is a matter of perception. Ensure
that yours are not lulled.

“How many?” she asked, but thought as she did that maybe

she didn’t really want to know how many traitors to the
rebellion Bal had assassinated.

“More than enough.”
Silently, Torri thanked her for that answer. “And now?”
“I’ve been reassigned.” The hint of a smile played on her

lips. “The Coalition, as you know, doesn’t approve of certain
information going too public. They are most grateful for my
vigilance in this matter, and my unwavering service to their
interests.” Humor and sarcasm tinged her words.

Torri smiled, as well. No, the Coalition didn’t want

information about a longstanding Coalition soldier with a
rebel past, a faked promotion, and a rogue bioweapons facility
getting out. The Ori, Kai had said this morning before she left,
were calling for an investigation. That was a public relations
disaster for the High Council, and something like-minds would
exploit only too well. “How did Sorreth die, then?”

“In an explosion.” Bal lapsed into silence again then spoke

after a long moment. “There are a few among us who would
like to know that you survived Shanlin,” she said, lacing the
statement with caution and respectful distance.

So Bal had heard Sorreth. Or maybe she had guessed. “I

know.” Torri stared at the farthest mesas and thought about the
training runs she and Kai had made as Cadets across bombing
ranges that looked a lot like this one, skimming past hoodoos,
dodging into canyons, skirting rock walls so close that had the
hatch been open, she could have reached out and run her fi ngers

A Matter of Blood

191

across the stone. Kai was the best pilot the Academy had seen
in a century, but Torri knew Kai was the best ever—better than
that fi rst legendary ace, better than anyone since, though the
Academy was now a breeding ground for half-assed Coalition
fl yboys and girls who would never know what true expertise
in the air was about. And she remembered the skies above
Shanlin, and the explosions all around and the sizzling, glow-
ing hulks of metal of her fellow rebel fi ghters, plummeting to
their fi nal resting places in the swamps below, their pilots often
trapped within. She shook her head, as much to dispel the
images as to respond to Bal’s suggestion.

“I understand,” Bal said, with something like regret in her

voice. “But should you change your mind or should you need
anything, Mondri’s Imports at Magellan would be a good place
to start.”

“Thank you.” Torri turned and stared hard at Bal. “Well

met, Lieutenant. May you fi nd what you’re looking for.”

“And you. Well met.” She turned and walked away.
Torri resumed watching the sunset, listening to Bal’s

footfalls as they crossed the roof then dissipated as she
descended the stairwell down into the main galleries of
Tinsdale Holdings, leaving Torri to the evening and the failing
desert light.

A like-mind contact. The information rolled around her

brain like the round stones holder children used in games. A
rebel network, expanding and maybe strengthening through
the efforts of hunters and informants, seeking survivors and
new recruits. She’d known they existed, and that they’d gladly
take her in. Some of them she probably knew personally, but
they thought she was dead, and in some ways, she was glad
of it. The more she stayed unknown, the better. She hooked
her thumbs on the waistband of her trousers. Maybe she didn’t
want to fi ght this war anymore. Maybe she just wanted to be
a trader and create a life that didn’t require that she constantly
look over her shoulder, and constantly worry about where the
next Coalition checkpoint was.

Andi Marquette

192

What kind of life would that be? And how might Kai fi t into

it? Torri caught herself. Kai didn’t fi t, and never would. Not in
the expected ways. She was a soldier, and a damn good one.
It was in her blood, her very bones, and she needed to use it,
or she’d wither, like parts of a soul left untended. The thought
of Kai piloting with her, working the trade routes, and keeping
abreast of Coalition plans was pleasant—exciting, even—but
utterly unrealistic. The circumstances of their lives were such
that they’d forever be connected, but never share physical
proximity for more than a few hours or days at a time, with
long stretches between. And perhaps that was as it should be.

A breeze ruffl ed Torri’s hair and blew it across her face. She

brushed it away and tucked it behind her ear.

“I remember the fi rst time you did that.”
Torri shut her eyes at Kai’s words, a strange but welcome

ache fi lling her chest, and she listened to her approach, so
familiar, so safe. Damn her.

“Or rather, the fi rst time I noticed you do it.” Kai stood to

Torri’s right, but she wasn’t watching the sunset. She was
regarding Torri, a half-smile on her lips. “We were studying for
the history of air strategy during second term. You were on the
practice deck, running holofl ights against the archive. And one
of the fl ights you’d mapped did something unexpected, and
you stood staring at the readouts for a good ten minutes.” Kai
reached over and brushed another strand of hair out of Torri’s
face. She gently tucked it, too, behind Torri’s ear. “You do it when
you’re thinking hard about something.” She lowered her arm.

“You know me too well.” Torri crossed her arms, trying to

protect herself from the emotions Kai stirred and the past they
shared.

“I might say the same about you.” Kai half-turned and

stared out into the deepening twilight. Torri imagined she felt
Kai’s body heat, rolling in gentle waves across her chest and
down her thighs.

“I’m not sure I’m that fortunate,” Torri said, studying Kai’s

profi le, noting the tiny lines at the corner of her eye.

A Matter of Blood

193

“You are.” Kai fl ashed her another smile. “And we’ll

discuss that further in a moment, if you’re so inclined. In the
meantime—”

“Business.” Torri grinned back at her. “And how was the

meeting with the Council representative?” She injected extra
innocence into her question.

“Interesting. The Council is oh, so shocked that Sorreth

had gone rogue. How he managed to construct the facility is a
matter under investigation. Heads,” she intoned gravely, “will
roll.” And then she snorted. “But only if the guilty parties don’t
offer a cut of the profi ts Sorreth seemed to have made. Lots of
interested buyers, for a bioweapon like that. But the rep didn’t
say that. Nor did he mention which of Sorreth’s superiors were
skimming.”

Torri scowled. The rep didn’t have to. Kai wasn’t an idiot.

Corruption in the Coalition was like sand in the desert. One
came to expect it. “It’s only a matter of time before someone
else fi gures out how to get the parasite off Sentinel.”

“Which is why the Ori are pursuing the matter. Hard.”
“How hard?”
“Enough that the High Council is calling a session in twenty

days. The Ori are pushing for a traffi cking ban. Which they’ll
probably get, since the Coalition really can’t afford to add fuel
to like-mind networks.”

Which means Kai has a job for the rest of her life, Torri

thought, if she wants it. She had quite a rep for tracking and
breaking smuggling rings. “What about the facility?”

Kai shrugged, sardonic. “The unclaimed territory is

notoriously unstable. You know that. Explosions happen all
the time. Powerful explosions. Everything was destroyed in
this most unfortunate incident. The logs Bal fi led as well as
reports from techs document almost weekly occurrences of
such things. But it seems Sorreth’s wayward shot in the lab
triggered a chain reaction.” She winked at Torri, who almost
didn’t catch the gesture in the growing darkness.

“That’s a relief. I’d hate to think your sister was considered

Andi Marquette

194

part of a nefarious plot on the part of the Tinsdales to rid the
nearby landscape of a suspicious research facility.” Though no
doubt the explosive drones Meli had sent had helped with the
“chain reaction.” But Kai was right. The soils and chemicals in
the unclaimed territory were unpredictable. Good cover, that.

“Indeed.” Kai was laughing, and the sound sank like

sunlight into Torri’s veins. “Sadly, the facility is completely
contaminated. But the Tinsdales will ensure that it’s not
disturbed. The Council rep was most relieved about that.”

“Certainly. Much easier to shove it under the dirt and forget

about it than send a team in. What about the techs?”

“All ten of them got out, thanks to Bal. They’re on their

way to debriefi ng, since it seems they’re all pleading ignorance
about Sorreth’s activities. They fi gured it was a Coalition-
approved facility and they were glad for the work. The military
personnel, too. Sorreth only kept a squad of twenty here.”

“So who on the Council implemented the security

clearances here?”

“Wareni. Which I suspected. She’s claiming that Sorreth’s

facility was approved through the proper channels, and that
there was no reason to suspect otherwise. The Ori have called
for an investigation of her, and they’re going public with
that.”

Torri half-laughed. “They won’t fi nd much.” Sorreth had

been covering this long, no doubt he had lots of Coalition
connections who worked very hard to hide their black market
activities. And now, their links to him.

“Wareni may be reassigned, depending on how much

money she brought in to the proper channels.” Kai threaded a
layer of disgust into the statement.

“So why did Sorreth risk bringing you on board?”
Kai shook her head slowly, staring into the dusk. “I think he

wanted some legitimacy. If he could get a Tinsdale to approve
the facility, then he could conceivably end up with the proper
licenses for military contracting, and he could operate in the
open.”

A Matter of Blood

195

“He didn’t do his research, then.” Torri slid her hands into

her pockets. “Had he done so, he would have known there was
no way you’d buy into something like this.”

“Mmm. I think Sorreth fi gured just about anybody could

be bought. He’d been able to buy everybody he wanted, up to
this point. And then he ran into my father who is, as you know,
incapable of taking a bribe.”

“True. I’m sure Sorreth was so confused by it that he

assumed your father was merely taking bigger bribes from
someone else.”

“And the more he offered, the more my father refused.” Kai

grinned again. “I rather like the idea that my father frustrated
Sorreth.”

“Same here. So why didn’t he target Meli?”
“She has no military background, and neither does Tarkin

or Vano.”

“Enter the other Tinsdale,” Torri said, wry. “Academy

graduate, with honors. Excellent service record.” She shook
her head. “Sorreth was a fool, to presume anything about
you.”

“I’m fl attered,” Kai said, teasing. “But I’m sure Sorreth was

able to buy many others with similar records. Perhaps even
better than mine.”

No doubt. “So what now?” Torri kept her eyes off Kai,

trying to sound nonchalant, trying not to hang hope on dreams.
Where did she stand in Kai’s world? “Has anyone checked
Oiros?”

“For you and the priestess, there’s no interest in delving

into temple records. As far as the rep is concerned, it was most
unfortunate that the Radij guardian of a priestess on a good
will mission to Vegas Sector was detained in such a manner,
and he offered apologies to Othne. Which I have delivered, and
she was, of course, most appreciative of the gesture.” Kai was
fi ghting another laugh.

“I’m certain she was. The priestess is most observant of

such protocol.”

Andi Marquette

196

And Kai’s laugh sounded again. “Given how stressful the

situation was, and Sorreth’s uncouth and decidedly hostile
behavior, the rep granted the crew of the Star Chaser a
perpetual security clearance for Vegas Sector, provided they
fi le through Tinsdale.”

Torri turned and stared at her, still able to make out her

features. “Perpetual?”

“Perpetual. And it’s for the crew. Not the ship. So should

you perhaps be fl ying a differently-named craft . . .”

“Kai—”
“Meli has already contracted with Birrit and Dal for tea

shipments to those who have not been so fortunate to indulge
in the fi nest Tinsdale Holdings has to offer. Your clearance
is thus merchant level. I’m sure Boris would be interested in
more permanent contracts, as well, for his textiles. Not so sure
about Evoran, though.” She shoulder-bumped Torri. “Best fi nd
another vintner here for wine shipments.”

“I—” Torri stopped. She had no words for this turn of

events. Her chest constricted.

“Please,” Kai said after a few moments. “Let me do this.

Every trader needs a base port.” And her words were heavy
with hope and uncertainty, echoing vulnerability that Torri
knew Kai hated to show, knew Kai hated to admit she had.

Torri exhaled softly, tears and relief clogging her throat. Kai

had seen her cry only once before, during their third term at the
Academy. Her father had commed her only once since she’d
left for the Cadet life, to say that he couldn’t afford to bring
her home for a visit, and she’d best make other plans. He’d
formally cast her out with that one and only comm, and she
had never felt so alone. Kai found her on the edge of the landing
pad, the most isolated place she could fi nd, and a match to her
mood. And Kai had sat with her until dawn, her supportive
silence and hand on Torri’s shoulder letting her know that some
things might end but others might begin.

“I’d prefer knowing that if you needed it, you could come

here. I’ll do whatever I can to get you help, if you need it.”

A Matter of Blood

197

“I can’t let you take that risk,” Torri said, aching that she

had to decline. Her chest tightened again, and she bit her lip.

“It’s not that much of a risk any longer. The Coalition knows

it’s worn out a welcome here, and with the Ori pressing for
investigations, nobody wants to admit what Sorreth was doing.
The Coalition is trying to legitimize itself, and what happened
here only stirs its enemies up.”

A kinder Coalition. One that would put you on trial before

declaring you guilty and then executing you. But Torri kept
that thought to herself. Kai was well aware of Coalition
machinations. She’d always been aware, but too worried about
family obligations and duty to accept them.

“Torri,” Kai said softly. Only the third time Kai had used

Torri’s birth name since Shanlin, and the sound of it on Kai’s
lips embedded itself in her heart. “Please. If I didn’t think such
a situation would work, I wouldn’t have suggested it. You
know that.”

Torri did know that. And just because Kai offered didn’t

mean Torri ever had to take her up on it. But it was nice,
knowing Kai had made it. She pressed her fi ngertips against
Kai’s lips. “Accepted. And you know the offer I made in
Newburg still stands. I can always use your skills on my ship.”
You need to fl y again, she added silently.

“I haven’t forgotten.”
Nor had she come to a fi nal decision about that, Torri

realized, and whispers of new hopes fl uttered in her chest. She
closed her eyes again, liking the way the cool night breeze
mixed with the heat Kai generated within her, and the way
it felt to stand here with her, talking like they did as Cadets,
Kai’s dry humor lighting up her eyes while slow smiles tugged
at her lips. And for the fi rst time in years, Torri didn’t look
over her shoulder, didn’t even feel as if she should, didn’t feel
the presence of the Coalition weighing on her psyche. There
is no shame in leaving a battlefi eld, if staying ensures defeat.
A strange lesson to hear, in military training. She had left, but
she still fought on other fronts, both internal and external. But

Andi Marquette

198

here, standing on this roof in the desert night, she relaxed. A
port in a storm.

“My thanks,” Kai said after a while. “For caring enough to

come here.”

Torri glanced at her, but Kai’s features were masked now by

shadows. “Always a pleasure, dragging you into my idiocies.”

Kai laughed again. “Good intentions don’t always provide

the results you want. That never stopped you, and I hope it
never does.”

Torri studied her, trying to pick out her features in

the encroaching darkness. Different, this Kai. She had seen
glimpses of her in Newburg, in Kai’s frustration and
uncertainty with the Coalition’s maneuvering to take her
family’s holdings, to pay forced tributes to what had turned out
to be a bogus project. Still fragile, the bond they acknowledged
then, and still painful, the choices they’d made years before.
But somehow, not so bitter anymore.

“I owe you twice now,” Torri said. “Newburg and here.”
Kai made a noise in the back of her throat. “You would have

fi gured something out without me. Well, wait. Not Newburg.
But here, probably.” Warmth and something else—something
much deeper and surer—colored her words. “Newburg—that
was a slagging mess. Yes, you defi nitely needed me there.”

Torri laughed. “All right, so you saved my life offi cially

once. I owe you.”

“No, we’re even.” Kai turned to face Torri, and the space

between them fi lled with promise. “We’re even. Because you
saved my life in Newburg, too. Showing up here made me
realize that, and made me see a few things I’d been avoiding.”

“I might say the same about you.”
“You always were the more insightful of us,” Kai said with

a soft laugh.

“I’m not sure that’s true anymore.”
“Remains to be seen, I suppose.” Kai’s palm was warm on

Torri’s cheek, and Torri leaned into it as something like fl ames
danced across her nerve endings. “Radij,” she whispered, her

A Matter of Blood

199

thumb grazing the scars on Torri’s skin. “I have to ask. Was it
your idea?”

“Coming here, yes. The priestess idea, yes, but Jindor set it

in motion. Radij? That was Jindor’s suggestion.”

Kai’s lips brushed Torri’s forehead. She smelled of spice

and space, crisp and cool and open, like the view from the
roof. “I want the whole story,” she murmured. “But I want
something else fi rst.”

Torri pulled Kai close, and it was like home, the solidity

of her body, and the way Kai’s hands roamed down her
back, her mouth on Torri’s neck. Torri burned for her, wanted
nothing more than to lose all track of everything with Kai
wrapped around her all night, until the sun sent them on their
way.

Torri sighed. “How much time do we have?”
“As much as you want.” She nipped at Torri’s throat, and

Torri groaned. “I’ve cleared you as my guests for the next few
days, if you want them.”

“Defi ne ‘few.’ ” Torri dug her fi ngers into Kai’s shoulders.
Kai kissed Torri’s chin. “Three. Four. Five, if the wind shifts

on the fourth. Sandstorms make for poor fl ying conditions.”

“Cyllea grant that,” Torri whispered. Please, grant me

that.

“So you’ll honor me with a longer visit?” Kai was teasing,

but offering Torri an out, should she want it.

“You have no idea how much I’m planning to honor you.”
And then they stopped talking.

“Done,” Jann said, and he set the tissue stabilizer down on

the tray. “No longer Radij.” He adjusted the viewer so Torri
could see herself in the screen. She touched her left cheek,
where the scars had been. Her skin still tingled.

“I don’t think I’ll miss them,” she said, even though memories

of Kai’s fi ngertips and lips grazing them so gently two nights
ago almost made her want to keep them a while longer.

Andi Marquette

200

“Me, either. It’s good to have you back.”
Torri pushed herself out of the med chair. “Freeman in

Kranstown on Riser Nine can get us a good price on the tea.
They still have a couple months of winter, and tea stores are no
doubt getting low by now.”

“We haven’t cargoed tea in a while,” Jann mused aloud.

“That’s a safe bet. Legit, even. Are we going soft?” He raised
his eyebrows in mock horror, though he was smiling.

“You tell me,” she shot back. “Five days of R and R might

make even the toughest mercenaries want to dabble in tea
shipping for the rest of their days.”

“And lose out on this life of adventure? Blasphemy.” He

stood. “Although I will admit, the R and R was a good idea.”
He waggled his eyebrows. “Much needed.”

“Oh? Perhaps we should do that more often?” Torri slipped

her shirt back on and fastened it.

“No argument here. It does wonders for your mood.”
She threw a piece of gauze at him.
“Captain—” Saryl poked her head in to sick bay.

“Course?”

“Completely off-kilter,” Jann said. Saryl glowered at him.

“Oh,” he kept on. “You mean you want a different course than
that.”

Saryl laughed, and Jann shrugged, smiling, as he fi nished

sterilizing his instruments and started to put them away into the
various cubbies and drawers.

“What do you think? Freeman in Kranstown?” Torri

finished tucking in her shirt. If there was anything going on
there that could cause a problem, Saryl or Jindor would know
about it.

“Riser Nine,” Saryl said approvingly. “Good idea. They

might just need a Tinsdale tea this time of year. Direct? Or do
we have any scheduled detours between here and there?”

“No. But that could change, given some of our clients.

Make it direct, but let’s keep our options open.”

Saryl grinned. “It’s good to have you back, Captain.”

A Matter of Blood

201

“It’s good to be back.”
“If there’s nothing further, I’ll have Jindor plot us.”
“Excellent. I’ll be in my quarters until my watch.”
Saryl nodded and retreated and Torri turned to Jann. “It’s

cold on Riser Nine.”

“I’ll run systems checks and calibrate for it,” he said as

he tossed the last of the gauze into the waste bin. “And I’ll
dig out our heavy gear,” he added with a long-suffering
emphasis.

“Thanks.” She headed for the door.
“Captain.”
She stopped and regarded him.
“It is good to have you back.”
She smiled and held his gaze for a moment before she

entered the corridor.

Torri stood on the bridge, staring out the front viewports,

seeing not the darkness of space but rather sunlight stenciling
latticework patterns on the fl oor of Kai’s rooms at Tinsdale.
She hadn’t spent that much time in Kai’s company since the
Academy, and she’d fallen into the pace easily, as if a decade
hadn’t wedged itself between them. And she was reminded
how comfortable, and safe, those days were in so many ways.
No Coalition then, only rumors of a political storm gathering
beyond the windows of the Empire. And at Tinsdale, in Kai’s
company, she let ten years of caution pool beneath her feet like
the clothing she left on the fl oor near Kai’s bed.

Liberating, to do that, to slough a layer like clothes. How

heavy she’d become, since the Collapse. And how much of her
she’d let the Coalition defi ne these past years. She reclaimed
some parts of herself she hadn’t realized she’d buried. No,
Kai, she thought, I do owe you because you just saved my life
again. And then she smiled, sunlight and rumpled bedding in
her mind’s eye.

“Captain.” Jindor addressed her before entering the bridge.

Andi Marquette

202

Torri caught her refl ection in the viewports. She was holding a
cup in each hand. “May I join you?”

“Please.” She watched Jindor’s refl ection approach, glad

that she was back to looking Malrusian.

Jindor handed a cup of hasha to Torri, who took it.
“Many thanks,” Torri said, appreciative.
“And no,” Jindor said. “I didn’t know whether you wanted

it or not. I just assumed. Your secrets are thus safe. Even from
Malrusians.”

Torri hid her smile behind the rim of the cup.
“My gratitude,” Jindor said after she sipped.
Torri swallowed before responding. “Yes, you should be

grateful. Not everyone gets shot with a parasitic bioweapon
in a tunnel on the verge of contamination beneath toxic soils.
You’re most welcome,” she teased. “But don’t expect it to
happen again.”

Jindor studied her for a moment. “Jann’s right. R and R

agrees with you immensely.”

“It agrees with all of us, and I think I’ll implement it more

often.”

“Ah. More tea runs, then, from Tinsdale?” Jindor kept her

tone level, but her eyes seemed to spark wickedly.

Torri defl ected the bait. “Perhaps.” She sipped and stared

out the viewpanel. “I think Tinsdale agrees with you, as well.
Meli is a consummate hostess. Quite adept, I’m told, at
ensuring the comfort of her guests.” She shot Jindor a glance,
pleased to see an expanding blotch of red on Jindor’s neck,
above the collar of her shirt.

“As is her sister, I suspect,” Jindor muttered.
Torri grinned and took another sip. “How is your shoulder?”
“Fine.”
“Good. I like my Malrusians in working order.”
“This one appreciates that.”
Torri nodded, as much at Jindor as to herself.
“Captain, may I speak freely?”
“You may.”

A Matter of Blood

203

“It’s been a very long time since I belonged anywhere. I

wanted you to know how much I appreciate that.” Jindor locked
her gaze with Torri’s.

“I should express my gratitude, for what you’ve done for us.

You have a place with us, as long as you want it.”

“Thank you.” She drained her hasha and walked toward the

entrance.

“Jindor.” Torri turned to her. “Someone once asked me if

something I was doing was about connection.”

Jindor waited at the doorway, watching.
“Yes,” Torri said. “It was. And it is. Feed the ones that

work.”

Jindor smiled. “I intend to.” And she left the bridge, Torri

watching after her for a moment before she fi nished her own
hasha. She checked the control readouts and programmed a
routine systems scan then stared once again out the viewports,
at the never ending night hurtling over the Far Seek like wind
over a butte. She thought of storms, then, and gunships above
the swamps of Shanlin, and the life that could come of death
horribly met. And she thought then of Kai, and the things that
remained unspoken but certain between them, and she knew it
was one connection she could no longer avoid feeding.

“Damn you, Tinsdale,” she said to her refl ection in the

viewpanel, and she laughed.

About the Author

Andi Marquette was born in New Mexico, grew
up in Colorado, then ended up back in New
Mexico where she completed a Ph.D. in history
after two other degrees in anthropology. Around
1993, she became a professional editor and has
been obsessed with words ever since, which may
or may not be a good thing. She wandered east
and spent three years on the other side of the
Mississippi, but couldn’t shake the West off her
boots or out of her soul, so she returned to her
homelands and is currently based in Colorado
where she edits, writes, and spends lots of time
running around in the surrounding mountains.

Her website is at http://andimarquette.com/

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