Page 56 of Shadows Approach

Porter considered. “Perhaps between six months and a year? That’s if we follow the Galactic Council’s protocols, which are both sound and thorough.”

Stacy was relieved to hear his estimate. Six months wasn’t a large amount of time, but it was better than losing her daily dose of Kuran sooner.

Mitchell wasn’t pleased. “Perhaps the GC’s protocols are too thorough. I see a lot of room for dragging our feet. Why don’t we develop our own vetting procedure, which could move things along quicker?”

Stacy thought Mitchell’s tone held a hint of aggression, especially compared to Porter’s calm, steady reply. “Why would we re-invent the wheel, which would also eat up a lot of time? Especially since the GC’s guidelines are proven to exclude those who wouldn’t be qualified for the job.”

“But up to a year? It’s a long time to wait.”

“It’s less than when we’d originally planned where the position is concerned. Thank goodness we have Nobek Kuran’s faultless competence on our side until then.”

“And beyond.” Stacy couldn’t resist digging at the Earthtiques in the room. “He’d train his successor.”

“Indeed. But Mr. Mitchell will have his native son as the face of Earth’s security quicker than we originally intended.”

“With that in mind, any further discussion?” Beyond Mitchell’s and his pal Spence’s scowls, there were only heads shaking. “All right, as to the matter of forming a committee to accelerate replacing the current Kalquorian head of security with an Earther officer, all in favor?”

The answer was unanimous. Mitchell and Spence might have been unhappy, but they at least conceded they had no grounds to argue against the plan. After all, they were ridding Earth of Kuran sooner than they’d expected.

Stacy tried not to be glum. Word would leak out. She was showing those who’d sabotaged her shuttle, as well as those voters who might elect her as their governor, that she’d made an effort to remove Kalquorian influence from Earth. Even those who didn’t mind alien assistance as long as it was required would note she’d led the charge to get Earth up and running on its own two feet.

Still, she hated to think of the day she’d have to go to work without Kuran a few steps away. The bastards had won on that account.

* * * *

Spyship assigned to orbit Bi’is

Pain was Ilid’s existence. The dark entity puppeting Dr. Umen had run endless rounds of tests, never employing the gentleness of anesthesia of any kind. The doctor had healed just life-threatening wounds, leaving plenty of torturous recovery to be done naturally.

The young Dramok couldn’t silence his moans as excruciating agony throbbed in his skull and body. Umen’s rider had taken the opportunity to examine and experiment on Ilid.

He tried to tell himself it could have been worse. Three of the men who’d noted the darks and been brought in for testing had been lobotomized in the end. They lay in medi-beds as corpselike as the pair who had died…at least until Umen started cutting again. Even the mindless screamed when they were hurt.

Please, Mother of All, let me die. Don’t let me end up like them.Ilid prayed a lot lately.

A noise alerted him someone had entered the room. He fought the tears eager to spill. He was still frozen and incapable of speech, thanks to the stasis field Umen kept him in. All he could do was utter screams muffled by closed lips.

A figure appeared in his peripheral vision. For a moment, Ilid wondered what was wrong with the as-yet-unidentified individual, who paused and stood staring at him. Something looked off about the figure he couldn’t quite identify.

Then, he got it. His visitor had no dark riding him.

Ilid’s heart pounded. He managed a questioning noise. The figure stepped closer.

It was an Imdiko orderly. After a moment, Ilid remembered his name: Darir. Darir was close to his own age, the youngest and lowest ranked crewmember assigned to Medical. The Imdiko glanced toward the door furtively before rushing to Ilid’s side.

“I see them too, but I pretend I don’t. They’re everywhere, hanging on all the officers. Almost everyone on the ship. We broke orbit around Bi’is, but they aren’t telling us low-rank guys why or where we’re going. What if they’re heading to one of our colonies? We have to do something!”

As Darir spoke, he tapped on the computer arms attached to the medi-bed, which enclosed Ilid’s torso. The panels slid away, and the Dramok could at last move.

He sat up gingerly, unable to suppress a groan as agony doubled. His gaze went immediately to the open doorway, which led to the admitting and emergency care section of Medical. “How many of them are out there?”

“None. They went to some meeting and left me alone, but it doesn’t matter. You and those poor bastards they operated on are the only patients we’ve seen in days. Do you need pain meds?”

“Fuck, yes.” Ilid’s feet slid to the floor, and his knees almost buckled under his weight. “I’m weak.”

“I’ll give you a stimulant. You’ve been flat for a week, but you have to walk as soon as possible. I have no idea when they’re due back.”

He was moving at top speed, injecting Ilid a couple of times. The Dramok hoped his rescuer was more experienced than he appeared. “Catch me up while I learn to walk.”

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