SCS Dark Star Read online

  Yet his heart broke at the thought of doing nothing. They had fought so hard, so long. Surely they’d earned some consideration? He feared the answer to that would remain no. His race was under a sentence of death, and even if he spared these soldiers, there would not be a reprieve. I should kill them, and then we should run, he thought. But there was nowhere to go. This facility, deep under the mountain, had sheltered them against the Q’Kathi, but it was also a trap with only a single way in or out. And soon, Yeri feared, it would be their tomb as well.

  He had to do something, the humans were messing with one of the stasis tubes. My people are in danger. Bluff, he decided. Threaten and posture, pray they can be frightened away. Anything to buy time. He had no idea what difference it would really make, but he would stubbornly fight for even a few more hours of life.

  Decision made, he slid down to ground level, keeping to the shadows that were his best camouflage. Moving quickly, he discovered, just wasn’t possible. He wondered if he’d be able to put up any kind of defense, but he had few options, and now, he was close enough to know that none of these humans were known to him.

  He crept up on them. The patter of their speech fell on his ears and caused him surprise. He didn’t recognize the language. He thought he might know some of the words, but most escaped him. It was like no language he’d ever heard, though he suspected an English base to it. That, combined with the strange uniforms and stranger insignia, brought up a new question. How long have we slept?

  Then, the worst question of all occurred to him. How will I be able to bluff, if I can’t even talk to them? He closed his eyes briefly and prayed for guidance. As usual, no deity deigned to answer. Sometimes, he questioned his own belief in God. This was one of those times.

  * * * *

  Doctor Nikolau Demos watched the tube impatiently. If he was right, and the occupant was a Rovani—oh, God, what a discovery! To find not their crypts, but the people themselves, still alive... the anticipation was killing him. He didn’t agree with the Marines’ fear that the tubes would contain Q’Kathi because that made no sense. The Q’Kathi would never build in a bunker like this, so deep underground, with ceilings so low and the lighting so dim. No, this had been designed by creatures who didn’t need much light to see, who weren’t bothered by close walls and tons of rock above.

  The lid popped open, revealing a small, furry body within—a juvenile Rovani, he instantly identified, less than ten years old. The Rovani moaned softly, discomfort plain on its features. Abruptly, another Rovani was there, blocking them from the tube. This one was an adult male—much larger, upright, and snarling at them in obvious threat.

  Stepping back, he admired the Rovani’s deadly beauty, the flashing claws, and sharp fangs. The male’s scream—the scream of a mountain lion—shivered his spine, and like the others, he took another cautious step back. He didn’t want to provoke the male into attacking. Right now, he was obviously trying to defend his young, and Nikolau thought that as long as they didn’t get too close, they’d probably be safe.

  “Easy there, we don’t want to hurt you,” said Lieutenant Harskel, her hand on her weapon, her face pale with fear, but her eyes and voice were steady.

  The Rovani glared at her and screamed again, taking a step forward in obvious threat. They all stepped back again.

  “Doctor, do something,” she hissed. “I don’t want to have to kill it!”

  Doctor Demos finally found his voice at that. He started speaking—in Greek. “We mean you no harm, War Leader Yeraki. Please, don’t hurt anyone.”

  The Rovani’s head swung toward him. The brilliant green eyes studied him. “How do you know my name? We’ve never met before. Whose side are you on?”

  “Your side,” Nikolau said promptly. “Trust me, Yeraki, we aren’t here to harm you or any of your people. We’re absolutely delighted to find any of you still alive.” As he spoke, Yeri’s claws and fangs retracted. The Rovani started to straighten from his fighting crouch then sank to the floor in clear pain.

  “Sleeping sickness,” Harskel said, clearly recognizing the problem. “They need medical attention immediately.”

  Nikolau knew she was right. Long-term stasis patients often suffered side effects from their long sleep. Cryo wasn’t perfect stasis, and nobody had ever slept as long as the Rovania had.

  “What does the woman say?” Yeraki asked, his gaze on her once more.

  “You have been in cryo for a long time. There are side effects. We will help you.”

  “How long?” Now, the green gaze was back on him. “How long have we slept? What is the state of things on the surface? Have the Q’Kathi returned? Has the death sentence been lifted?”

  Nikolau thought of several things to say and discarded all of them. He wasn’t sure the Rovani was ready for the complete truth. He temporized, “A long time, Yeraki. A long time. The Q’Kathi aren’t here any longer, and the sentence you speak of was lifted years ago.”

  The medical team arrived, pushing through the crowd with accustomed ease. They reached Nikolau’s side and did a double take. “Uhm, is that a Rovani? A real, live Rovani?”

  “Yes,” he replied. “They have sleeping sickness.”

  “Will our medicines work on them?”

  Nikolau hadn’t considered that. He turned to Yeri and repeated the question. Yeri blinked, shrugged then pointed to a tube. “Wake him. He’d know.”

  While they waited for the new tube to cycle, the medics went ahead and started IVs in order to give the two sick Rovania some desperately needed fluids. Nikolau wasn’t sure what he had been expecting from the next tube, but he was absolutely stunned when the lid opened to reveal a human man. The man blinked and groaned then muttered, “Surely death is preferable to this,” in Greek.

  The medics pounced on the man. They started another IV, got fluids going, and added several medications to the line. Nikolau stepped over to the man. “Will human medicines work on Rovania?”

  “Depends on the medicine. And the dosage.” The man looked over at Yeri. “Same thing as I’ve got?”

  “Sleeping sickness from extended cryo,” Nikolau explained. “We’re giving you electrolytes and dextrose.”

  “That’s safe for them,” the man announced.

  “If I may ask, who are you?”

  “I am Leonides Tavlakis, Doctor of Rovani Medicine and a senior Breedmaster of the Rovanis Lineage.” The man offered a hand, despite being flat on his back. “And you?”

  “Nikolau Demos, Doctor of Rovani Archeology and Senior Professor, University of Athens.” He tried to hide his shock. History claimed that the Rovania had killed the Breedmasters who’d controlled them before fleeing to America where they’d taken up arms against the alien aggressors. To find a Breedmaster here, with the Rovania, flew in the face of established history.

  “Rovani Archeology?” Lee shook his head, expression bemused. “How long has it been? A thousand years?”

  “No, only eight hundred.”

  * * * *

  Cradling a steaming mug in both hands so that the warmth would soak into his hands, Yeri watched the humans and tried to relax. The gataki, a female named Fosalla, was pressed up against him. He accepted her presence, offering what comfort he could because the Rovania had chosen to continue the practice of raising their children communally. So even though she wasn’t his by blood, she was his in spirit.

  A day after coming out of stasis, he was feeling better, physically. The medicines had helped there, but they couldn’t do much for his head, the shock of learning just how long his people had slept. Everyone we knew—dead and gone. At least I still have Lee and Angel.

  Lee was still talking to the other humans, yet another new group of them, telling their tale, explaining how the Rovania had come to America, how they’d fought, why they’d chosen to hide in stasis. Better him than me. Yeri wasn’t entirely sure he trusted these humans. It was safer, by far, to have Lee speak for them. He sipped the broth sl
owly, savoring the beefy taste. It wasn’t too artificial tasting, at least, and it was crammed full of vitamins and stuff he needed.

  The humans were staring at him again. He sighed and muttered, “I am not an animal in a zoo. So why do I feel like one?”

  Fosalla stirred. “Baba?”

  “Shh.” He freed a hand and stroked her. “Back to sleep, little one.”

  Her motion had attracted their attention. Their voices raised as they babbled excitedly. A few of them stepped toward her, still talking. Fosalla looked up at him, silently asking for direction. She’d been raised to trust humans, but everything had changed after the massacre, and she’d learned to be wary. That change saddened him, but wariness was often the first step to surviving.

  He shifted his position, easing himself between the humans and Fosalla. The humans stopped and stared at him some more. They called back to Lee, talking and gesturing. Lee walked over and listened to them for a few minutes then turned to Yeri. “They wish to take a closer look at one of you.”

  “I am not an exhibit,” Yeri snapped. “Nor is Fosalla.”

  Lee smiled mirthlessly. “I agree with you. I just thought you’d like to know what they said before I told them off.” His human turned back to the others and dressed them down. That was obvious by the tone of voice and posture, words didn’t even need to enter into it.

  Yeri grinned down at Fosalla. “There are plenty of good humans out there, but I’m glad I have the one I do.”

  She giggled. “Baba, he’s your handler.”

  “Same thing, gataki. It’s all a matter of perspective.” His gaze shifted as Lee sat down beside him.

  His human stroked his arm. “You’re supposed to drink that.”

  Yeri took another sip. “So, are they going to wake us all up?”

  “Yes, but I proposed that they do so in an organized fashion, starting with Breedmasters, studs, and some of the more mature males. Now I’m waiting to see if common sense will prevail.” Lee leaned back against the wall and sighed softly. “It’s been a long couple of days.”

  Yeri set his now-empty mug down and curled up so that he was using Lee’s thigh as a pillow. Lee’s hot, human hand felt good on his head, stroking his mane back. Fosalla slipped closer to him, pressing her back against his chest and using his arm as a pillow. Yeri had to smile at Lee’s soft chuckle. He closed his eyes.

  “How are they?” Doctor Demos asked some unknown length of time later. Yeri listened since the man had woken him, but he kept his eyes closed and his body limp.

  “It’s interesting to observe them,” Lee said slowly. “Yeri is almost physically recovered from the sickness, but his mind is still in shock. Fosalla has the opposite problem—she’s fine, mentally, but her body hasn’t recovered yet.”

  “Young things are often more resilient than their elders, so she probably just needs more time,” Nikolau offered. “Is there anything we can do to help him?” The sincerity of voice and scent was touching.

  “I think he also just needs time. It will help to have other Rovania awake—he’s complaining about feeling like an animal in a zoo exhibit the way people are acting around him.” Lee sighed and stroked Yeri’s head. “I can’t even blame them—the extinct Rovania have magically come back to life and here’s the most famous one of them all. But it’s really annoying from Yeri’s perspective.”

  “I’ll see what I can do about that,” Nikolau finally replied, his scent now one of consternation. “He’s right, most of our visitors have acted like tourists at the zoo. How will waking the others help with that?”

  “More Rovania for people to look at,” Lee admitted frankly. “It means they won’t be overwhelmed by the attention. Also, most of the Rovania still in stasis aren’t attached to specific humans, unlike Yeri.”

  “What do you mean, attached?” The curiosity overlaying the man’s scent almost made Yeri laugh.

  “They’re all psions; it’s bred in on purpose. Because of this, when a human and a Rovani are together long enough, a telempathic bond forms. Yeri and I are bonded. I’m his as surely as he’s mine. That’s what I mean by attached. An unattached Rovani is much more interested in meeting new humans.”

  “I see.” Nikolau’s calm acceptance was refreshing. Yeri opened his eyes and met the man’s gaze. The scientist’s lips quirked. “We’ve got a plan in place now to wake the others.”

  “Tell me,” Yeri requested quietly. It was so strange to have others take charge, but these humans had done so quickly and willingly, their eagerness and sincerity were real and heartening to one who’d almost given up on humanity as a lost cause.

  “We will wake them up in the order Doctor Tavlakis suggested, one by one. Each awakened person will be taken to the hospital we’ve set up, so they can recover. Once they’re medically cleared, they will be transferred to the village where they will learn what they need to know to live in this time. Several universities have sent volunteers to help the Rovania adjust, enough volunteers, in fact, that we should be on a one-to-one basis. Once the Rovania have adjusted—well, you’re all free now, so it’s up to each of you to decide what to do with your lives.”

  “I want to be there when you awaken my people,” Yeri told him. “It would be better for everyone, they all know me, so my presence will reassure them that they’re safe.”

  “I was hoping you’d volunteer for that,” Nikolau replied, smiling. The warm affection in his scent only added to his sincerity. “We can start whenever you’re ready.”

  Chapter Three: Awakening

  The first thing he saw upon waking was his father’s face. Yeri’s presence was both calming and cheering. He felt like shit, granted, but they were still alive and still free. Humans helped him out of the pod and onto a stretcher, they gave him an IV and started fluids—electrolytes, they said. It was a shock to learn that eight hundred years had passed, but after thinking about it, Veloki decided that he felt bad enough for that to be true.

  The humans took him to their hospital. While his body recovered, his mind was subjected to rapid-fire lessons in Standard, the modern version of English, an English so changed from the language he’d known as to be completely unrecognizable. But their method of teaching language was the best ever since they used a combination of telepathy to implant what he’d need to know and computer lessons to help him mentally process the information.

  He remained in the hospital for two nights; then, he was declared well enough to move on to the village. He walked out of the medical building and, following the directions he’d been given, followed the path to what they were calling the village. It was more a camp than a village, constructed of portable buildings and tents. He stopped at the edge of the village and stared.

  There were humans everywhere, but they were, on the whole, happy and excited. It was strange to sense such cheerfulness and joy, especially after years of fighting the Q’Kathi once the aliens had revealed their true intentions. The Rovania had won the war against the Q’Kathi but not against the humans. It had been the enraged mobs of disillusioned humans that had driven them so deeply into hiding, forcing Yeri to order the captured stasis tubes to be used.

  Veloki had gone to sleep in his tube expecting that he would never wake up again. And now, here he was, surrounded by happy humans who were delighted to have the Rovania back among them. The humans had considered his race to be extinct, almost a myth. Veloki wondered who was more surprised, the humans or the Rovania. He certainly never expected that humans would honor him as a hero, but he’d been told that modern humans learned about the war between the Rovania and the Q’Kathi as schoolchildren. He found the building marked with three black triangles on a white background and went in.

  A tired man looked up from the screen before him, his weary eyes focused on Veloki. A smile stretched his lips, and his scent displayed no deceit. “Ya’sas.” After saying hello in Greek, the man switched to Standard. “Welcome to admin, such as it is. I need your name, please.”


  “I am Veloki, out of Vesticha, by Yeraki, in the line of Nathizo.” Veloki gave the man points for making an effort—the Greek greeting, so familiar, had helped put him at ease.

  “Veloki, hmm.” The man studied his screen, touched it a few times to pull up different information. “Ah, here you are. You’re listed as an untriggered adult male with five years of fighting experience. Is that correct?”

  “Yes, sir.” He was pleased with their organization and knowledge. They might know where Mark was. He missed his human greatly.

  “Call me Dave,” the man told him, smiling to remove any sting. He glanced down at the screen again, touched it. “Okay, here’s the scoop. Each one of you has been assigned to a guide. This guide is supposed to help you settle in, learn about life in this new modern age, and help you to decide what you want to do. These guides are mostly young themselves, college students and the like. They have no experience with you Rovania, of course.”

  Veloki cocked his head. “How many Rovania will each guide be helping?”

  “It’s one on one. We had more than enough volunteers for this. Your guide is Kellin. He’s in the building next to this one, five black dots on white.”

  “Thank you. If you don’t mind... has the human Mark been awakened yet?”

  The man touched his screen several times. “Mark... Mark... ah, here he is. Human male, level four telekinetic?”