The Iriduan’s Mate by Susan Trombley
Twenty-Six
Shulgi knew this part of the fifth tier, but only by mention. He’d never had a need to enter this sector, where Syndicate clinics routinely treated those citizens of Za’Kluth who couldn’t afford the more expensive private medical care to be found all over the column, with varying degrees of effectiveness.
The dreg had its own extensive health sector, though the quality of service varied there, as well.
The crowd of many different fifth-tier species passed by him in a blur, though he always remained aware of potential dangers, even with the community security on this tier policing this section with more thoroughness than they did some of the others. The clinics paid a premium in fees to the community coffers for such a boost in security.
Some of the clinics had been set up by legitimate charitable organizations that operated within Syndicate space and spread their charity to the CivilRim as a misguided and pointless effort to improve the lives of the outcasts of polite society. Wealthy philanthropists and generous Syndicate citizens from every different member species threw money at these organizations, yet far too little of it made its way to these beleaguered clinics in remote areas of the CivilRim like Za’Kluth.
Still, many basic services could be found for almost any species in column 212. The non-affiliated clinics in the sector weren’t so altruistic, but also offered a far wider range of services. Everything from bionic limbs to illegal implants and modifications to black-market transplants were on offer in such places. He actually felt relief to discover it was one of the shadier clinics that he’d been sent to, upon Luna’s instructions. A legitimate clinic kept footage of patients entering and leaving, and possibly passed those records back to their headquarters in Syndicate space.
The bulky tapiran standing guard just inside the clinic’s doors didn’t bother to greet him. He merely eyed him with suspicion, taking in his appearance, then gestured towards a private treatment room with a grunt.
Shulgi scanned the clinic’s lobby briefly, making note of all the other patients waiting listlessly in various seats designed for their biology, and the front desk, bustling with patients paying for their services. No one stood out as a particular threat, and few of the occupants of the lobby even glanced up from their varied forms of entertainment to meet his eyes. Those who did took in his appearance, and then quickly looked away.
He entered the indicated room, feeling the hum of the sound deadener kicking in as soon as the door sealed shut. He didn’t bother to sit in any of the seats or on the table in the center of the room, eyeing the machines that surrounded it with only a vague curiosity.
This was an implant room, and he doubted they were using it to embed wrist coms under people’s skin. No doubt the bulk of the work done here would qualify as illegal in Syndicate space.
“You’ve received word back.” Luna’s voice suddenly speaking caused him to spin on one foot, drawing his pistol from the full sleeve of his robe.
He sighed and shook his head as he slowly lowered the pistol. “Are you testing me to see if I can kill you before you manage to freeze me with your mind?”
Luna chuckled, and again he found it strange to see so much animation in the expression of a Lusian. The genuine smile, almost a full grin, seemed unnatural on her. Yet at the same time, seemed like something she was comfortable with.
“I froze your weapon before I spoke,” she said in a casual tone. “It would not have fired.”
“What game are you playing, Luna?” He holstered his pistol, irritated that she’d managed to catch him off guard yet again, despite him expecting this very type of interaction.
Her smile faded and she lowered her unnerving eyes. “I apologize. I’m not trying to toy with you. It is rare that I speak with others anymore. I have lost my manners, perhaps.”
“I’ve never known Lusians who had manners,” Shulgi muttered.
This time, her smile was more hesitant. “Me neither.”
He cocked his head, regarding her thoughtfully, keeping his mental wall built, careful not to think too much about secrets he needed to remain that way. “What’s your story, anyway?”
She shrugged, glancing at the machines to the side of her instead of meeting his eyes again. “I have already told your friend. He has agreed to allow me onto his ship, though he has not yet said whether he will grant me a place with his crew.”
Shulgi grunted, crossing his arms over his chest. “Friend? I wasn’t aware Lusians had those.”
“In general, we do not.” This time, she did meet his eyes. “However, even an ignorant Iriduan like you should have noticed that the director you met is atypical of our species.”
Properly chastened, he bowed his head in apology. “I didn’t come here to offend you, Luna. I seem to be saying all the wrong things to women today.”
She tilted her head slightly, her dark eyes narrowing. He resisted the gentle probe at his mind.
She smirked. “To have such a handsome male even regard me as a female is flattering enough that I will overlook any offense you’ve given.”
He had no idea why he felt startled that she expressed an awareness of sexual desirability. Roz and his crew were devoted to their mate in a way that made it clear they desired her on all levels, though Shulgi had not been fortunate enough to personally meet the human woman who had managed to transform their austere lives so completely.
“If only my heart was free, Luna.” He couldn’t keep the melancholy out of his tone.
He figured there was little point in trying to hide it from someone who could read his mind. After all, the only thing he could think of now was Molly, and the way she’d left him.
She blinked, then lowered her gaze. “If she has left you, then what need do you have to eliminate Sha Zaska?”
He clenched his fists. “That creature is a monster that does not deserve to live. I can never have Molly for my queen, but I can remove that burden from her life.”
“And then what happens to your Molly?” Luna asked, and he wondered if he was imagining the tinge of compassion in her tone.
He shook his head. “She will be free. That’s all that matters. Then, whatever happens to her, it will be her choice.”
“Life is never that simple,” Luna said in a neutral tone. “I suspect her choice would be to remain with you, but you have made a choice of your own that keeps that from happening.”
“She was the one who left.” Shulgi spun on one foot and began to pace in the small room. It only took two of his long steps to cross the span of the floor before he had to turn, making his pacing short.
“What did you offer her to stay?”
He shot a glare at Luna. “I offered her freedom from the monster who enslaves her!”
She watched him pace again. “You still don’t see, Shulgi Amanat. I fear that you will not appreciate the truth when you discover it. I fear it will harm you more than even I can predict.”
He paused, studying her face, looking for information from her expression. “You said Roz agreed to bring you on his ship, which sounds like he’s willing to hear you out. You promised information in return.”
“I would keep what I’ve learned to myself,” Luna replied with a slow shake of her head, “but giving it to you is one condition the director insisted upon when I told him I balked at it.”
“You think I will die at Sha Zaska’s hands.” Shulgi huffed. “Or arms. Whatever his appendages might be called. Roz knows I’m more than capable of defending myself.”
Luna sighed, lifting her hand to touch a transmitter on her silver suit. “Yes, Roz knows many things that lesser beings like ourselves are never privy to, but I know that sometimes, the battle you go in search of isn’t the one you find.”
With that, she touched her transmitter, and less than a second later, Shulgi’s wrist com beeped with a message from her marked simply “location.”
“I have done what I can for you, Shulgi,” Luna said. “I have been forbidden from giving you any additional information but what you have there. I do not question this director. I can’t afford to at this point.”
He froze in surprise when she laid a hand upon his shoulder, her long fingers curling over it. “Please, take care of yourself, Shulgi. Not just your body, but also your heart.”
Shulgi stared at the blank space left behind when Luna blinked out of the room in a flash of light so fast it barely registered on his retinas.
He left the clinic in a thoughtful mood, though anticipation for the upcoming battle pumped through his blood. The message Luna had sent him offered coordinates, and a quick search showed that they led to a portion of the under-vents that likely contained the core of Sha Zaska’s body—the part of him that Shulgi would need to destroy. The information also pointed him to an access point into the under-vents used by Zaska’s own people. Shulgi planned to infiltrate the under-vents through that access.
When he returned to Ma’Nah, he found Alad awaiting him, his blue eyes wide as he practically bounced on his feet. When Alad spotted Shulgi, he skimmed above the ground, his wings blurring as they lifted him off his feet in his rush to intercept Shulgi.
“Professor Namerian says you must meet with him in his lab, immediately,” Alad said in a breathless voice, dropping back to his feet in front of Shulgi.
“I have other things I need to take care of, Alad. He can send whatever he needs to tell me in a message.”
All Shulgi wanted to do was to prepare for the upcoming battle with Sha Zaska. He had many preparations to make. He also had some contacts to tap in order to take on Zaska and his minions on their own turf.
The most important thing he needed to do was make certain Molly didn’t get harmed in the ensuing chaos. That was paramount. He would make no move against Zaska until he could be certain Molly wouldn’t end up harmed or killed.
Alad grabbed his arm, tugging on him without much effect. Still, the boldness of this act got Shulgi’s full attention. Alad was usually far too timid for such behavior.
“Please, sir! The professor was very insistent that you see him immediately. He has sent out security to search for you!”
This couldn’t be good. Namerian wouldn’t waste manpower to find Shulgi just to pass on a simple message. Thanking Alad and bidding him to return to whatever duties he’d been doing, Shulgi made his way quickly to the secret lab.
When he arrived, the entire team waited for him, Namerian standing in the center of the group. They all turned to look at him as he walked in the room, but his gaze shifted from Namerian to the video playing on the holo screen beside the professor.
“Sha Zaska demands we double our payments to him for use of his docks and ships, or he makes this footage public to the dreg,” Namerian said dully.
Feeling a sense of crushing betrayal, Shulgi watched the image of himself buried deep inside Molly, his mask-less face pressed against her neck as he fucked her without regard for protecting himself from imprinting upon her.
Now he understood why Molly had turned so cold and remote before walking out on him today. He wondered how he could have been so wrong about her.
Then he wondered what the point of being cured of the affliction was, if he could still make such a stupid mistake as to trust the woman he’d fallen for.
