The Mercenary (The War Chronicles Book 1) Read online

  “Is this station not adequate?” Saakshi inquired, mildly surprise by the news.

  To someone who had never been on a starship this big, TF124 seemed more than adequate for their needs.

  “We need to train five times the rebels than we can manage on this facility” Zoran explained easily. “We have a lot more Hadari’Kor signed up to train Budheya, and we need to start training them faster if we’re to make any kind of impact against the Empire. We’re working against time here, because once the secret of our assistance to the rebels gets out, the Ketaari will add more patrols over Budheyasta. The secret is too big to hide for long and once it gets out, we won’t be able to transport anyone off your world.”

  He glanced at her with a frank and somber expression on his face.

  “Please keep what I’m about to tell you to yourself, Saakshi. Very few people on this station know this.”

  Saakshi nodded her compliance immediately, surprised by his words. Why should the others on TF124 need to be kept in the dark about anything, she wondered?

  “This facility is not stationed within the borders of Alliance space.”

  Taken aback, Saakshi stared at him, very aware of the dangerous implications of his words.

  “It’s not far from the Alliance border, but is not encompassed or protected by their security net” Zoran explained.

  “Why not?” she asked baldly. “Would that not leave the station without adequate protection?”

  “Commander Kerovac is not yet ready for anyone to discover Ur’quay’s presence in Quadrant Five. We’re using the Ur’quay ship with their cloaking device to transport the rebels. If the Henia were to fly into Alliance space, they would need proper clearances and IDs. Any number of people would have access to that information and it would mean that the secret would not remain one for very long.”

  “And the secret is important enough to take this risk?” Saakshi queried gently.

  “The Commander believes that the Ur’quay Fleet’s entry into the war will be a game changer on the military front. And, he thinks the news of this alliance has the potential to be a publicity coup. He’s holding onto the information for maximum impact.”

  “Aren’t the Budheya rebels in on the secret? They are being transported by the Ur’quay ship.”

  “They only see Hadari’Kor on their journey to and from TF124. They do notice an unusual starship, but it is easy to pass the ship off as Hadari’Kor to them.”

  Saakshi nodded thoughtfully. For people who had not met anyone but their kind and the Ketaari to assume that the advanced starship transporting them as Hadari’Kor was not a huge stretch. The Ur’quay warriors were legendary in this part of space, and their decision to join the war would be a huge win in the battle for public perception. A few months on an Alliance station had made Saakshi acutely appreciate how the long unending war had turned many Alliance citizens weary and pessimistic about the future. This news had the potential to renew hope and optimism in its citizens. She also knew that the Budheya would draw enormous hope from the Ur’quay’s presence in the war against the Empire. Her deeply spiritual people would see it as a sign from the Pura that their tide of misfortune was coming to an end. The Alliance Commander’s decision was a risk, but as she was beginning to comprehend, it had been very much a calculated risk.

  “This could alter the balance of power in favor of the Alliance” Saakshi said in awe.

  “This, and an internal rebellion from within the Empire. If the challenge came from its largest and most prestigious colony, the Empire would find itself fighting on two very strong fronts. That is why the training schedule for the rebels needs to be speeded up. The rebels need to be readied to foment a full-scale rebellion on Budheyasta when the Commander is ready to announce the Ur’quay as his allies in a new military campaign.”

  “Do not worry about this station, Saakshi” he assured her. “It’s not completely unprotected. Commander Kerovac stationed TF124 close to the Alliance border, should there arise a need to defend it. In addition, it has a modified cloaking device provided by the Ur’quay. To ships passing by, TF124 looks like a huge asteroid in an asteroid belt. The cloaking device needs enormous power to sustain it” Zoran explained. “That is why the Star Captain and I have been tasked with finding an alternative route that does not involve the Ur’quay ship and its cloaking device to transport the rebels from Budheyasta.”

  “Were you successful?” she asked curiously.

  “We might have a strategy” Zoran acknowledged as the doorbell trilled loudly, interrupting their conversation.

  It was Jolar at the door. His eyes lit up on seeing Saakshi seated at the dinner table.

  “Saakshi” he exclaimed, his joy at seeing her unhidden. “It is good to see you.”

  Saakshi, who’d sprung to her feet to greet the big Hadari’Kor warrior, found herself enveloped in a hug.

  “Why don’t you join us for dinner once you’re done hugging my tseriya” Zoran invited his friend.

  Jolar released Saakshi with a chuckle to seat himself at the table without further ado. Saakshi allowed herself a quick glance at Zoran, who was watching his friend with a bland expression on his handsome face, before switching her attention to watch Jolar start to pile food on his plate. She was no stranger to watching how much food the massive Hadari’Kor were capable of consuming at each sitting, though she still liked watching them put it away.

  Saakshi nibbled while the two males ate more heartily and indulged in good-natured ribbing of each other.

  “How do you like your new job as Budheya Personnel Coordinator, Saakshi?” asked Jolar.

  “I like it very much” she responded with enthusiasm. “Although I have to admit that it took me a while to find my feet. It’s very different from anything I’ve ever done in my life.”

  “The Station Commander says very good things about Saakshi” Zoran interjected with quiet pride.

  Saakshi stared at him in astonishment. When and why had Zoran discussed her with the Station Commander, she wondered.

  A communicator trilled suddenly, interrupting the three people at the table. Zoran excused himself to head over to the desk where he had shed his communicator device.

  “You seem surprised that Zoran would discuss your work with the Station Commander” Jolar remarked. “Who do you think recommended you for the job?”

  Saakshi’s mind grappled with the revelation. Who else would have recommended her for the position after all, she wondered. She had pondered that very question in the early days when first offered the position. Saakshi was aware that Zoran had procured Alliance identity tags for her as part of the deal he had dangled before the Alliance Commander. The rest, she had convinced herself, had been fate taking its natural course. Having thrown the mantle of the Alliance over her, Zoran had taken off on more urgent business. Or so she had assumed. Saakshi had rationalized that the Station Commander had offered her the position since she was the only Budheya on the station. It was clear that the Alliance personnel on TF124 knew nothing about the Budheya. The powers that be had tried to ensure that the rebels trained on this station had someone familiar to talk to, should the need arise. It would not do for this entire house of cards that tied the Budheya rebels, the Alliance and the Hadari’Kor mercenaries in a complicated pact to come crashing down before the operation had a chance to get off the ground, she’d assumed.

  Yet, Jolar’s blunt observation did not surprise Saakshi. In her heart, she had known that Zoran would never leave her future up to fate. In every way he could, he had always smoothed her path for her. Zoran was ambitious and, when it came to what he wanted, meticulous and always thinking ahead to the future. That was how he had come to command a starship and his own mercenary army at an early age.

  “Zoran knew you’d be a good fit” Jolar watched the gamut of expressions flash across Saakshi’s face with a puzzled air. “He also believed that you’d prefer a job that allowed you to assist the resistance in your own way, now that returning to Budhe
yasta is not an option for you.”

  Why hadn’t it occurred to her that it was all Zoran? Because circumstances had made her doubt her importance in his eyes, whispered her inner voice. Saakshi didn’t believe that Zoran had abandoned her. But she also knew that in four long months, he had made no attempt to contact her.

  I should have guessed that Zoran would never leave anything to chance. He’d made sure to drive home my suitability as the only rational choice for the position in the right ears, before venturing forth to take care of other business.

  “I owe him” Saakshi muttered with a mixture of love, distress and chagrin. How could she have missed it, she chastised herself miserably. The signs had always been there. Once she had invited him into her life, he had made sure to strew rose petals every step of her way, no matter how recalcitrant she had been to accept his assistance in any form.

  “I don’t think Zoran sees this as a debt” Jolar countered with a frown. What in Penjem hell was going on with his friend and his little Budheya tseriya, he wondered.

  “He beat up the Unta-Golar for me, he bribed Pik to give me the easy and lucrative shift on Keeyor 9, he made an enemy of the Empire to save me from the Imperial Forces, he almost sacrificed himself on my world to keep me safe from the Ketaari, he’s responsible for my Alliance tags, and made sure to get me a position where I could continue assisting my people” Saakshi almost wailed, overwrought by the emotions roiling in her - relief at Zoran’s return when she had almost given up, confusion about his motives for coming back and hurt at his abandonment of her without a word.

  “And I …” she trailed off, uncomfortably aware of feelings she couldn’t give words to and the memory of her reaction when Zoran had gifted her the beautiful dress back on Keeyor 9.

  “He also cajoled, manipulated, finessed, hammered and threatened into being this somewhat fragile coalition between the resistance, the Hadari’Kor and the Alliance because he wants to, and I quote ‘force the Godforsaken Ketaari Empire to its knees for daring to subjugate you and your people’” Jolar declared.

  A myriad of expressions chased across Saakshi’s face at Jolar’s words – shock, chagrin, sudden realization, disbelief, mounting comprehension, pleasure, uncertainty and so much more.

  “Why do you think he did all this?” he asked her.

  “He felt sorry for me” Saakshi muttered, not quite convincingly. Why else would Zoran have left her behind without a second glance, she asked herself.

  “Don’t be a fool, Saakshi!” her friend pointed out bluntly.

  “He owes my people for their part in uniting your two planets in the past” she said haltingly.

  “There are many Hadari’Kor, I included, who feel that way, and yet we did not step up to do anything to change the Budheya’s circumstances. Meeting you was the push that Zoran needed. Oh, many Hadari’Kor were extremely receptive to his call for mercenaries to train the rebels, but he’s the only one who set the ball rolling and brought everyone to the table to hammer out an actual agreement. Believe me, Saakshi, this coalition of Zoran’s will do more to topple the Empire than any military campaign the Alliance mounts. Commander Kerovac understands this and has been a major force in helping with logistical support and cutting through some of the Alliance red tape, once Zoran convinced him of the viability of the coalition.”

  Saakshi directed a glance at Zoran, who stood in deep conversation at the far end of the room, utterly unaware of the seismic shift in comprehension taking place within her. She was reeling at the revelation of how much he had done for her and her people.

  Would the Budheya ever know how much they owed this Hadari’Kor mercenary, she wondered.

  By the Pura, I will make sure of it, if it is the last thing I ever do.

  “Saakshi, do you remember the advice I gave you about Zoran on Keeyor 9?” Jolar’s voice brought her back to the present.

  Saakshi nodded. Jolar’s advice had eventually convinced her to confess the Unta-Golar’s threats to revoke her contract to Zoran.

  “I told you then that he is the person you most want on your side in a fight. Let me tell you something else about Zoran. He also loves forever. Anyone lucky enough to win Zoran Hadari-Begur-Kor’s heart will never lack anything, not while he’s alive. I don’t know what is going on between you two, but I will tell you one thing. Zoran was curiously reluctant to return to this facility. We could have concluded our business at least a few weeks earlier if Zoran had wanted it done.”

  Saakshi stared back at Jolar, his words and their connotation reverberating in her head. After four months of trying to come to terms with her feelings for Zoran and her sense of desolation as well as questioning the relationship they had forged under difficult circumstances, Jolar’s hint about Zoran’s strong feelings for her should have made Saakshi happy. Instead, Jolar words gobsmacked her, leaving Saakshi more confused. The long lonely months had made Saakshi question everything about her time with Zoran.

  “But he calls me tseriya” she muttered under her breath. The words came from nowhere, only to cause Saakshi acute embarrassment when Jolar’s expression let her know that he had heard her.

  “And what is wrong with that?” Jolar inquired cautiously, after a moment of stunned silence. If Saakshi had been less distraught, she might have enjoyed Jolar’s expression; that of a deluded male forced to navigate the treacherous minefield of female emotions.

  Females, Jolar wondered in bemusement. Better his friend than him. Even Saakshi, mature for her age and very reasonable in most matters, seemed to object to the strangest of things, he mused.

  “He calls me companion like he cannot be bothered to remember my name” Saakshi muttered sheepishly, hideously embarrassed by the conversation. She had never meant to reveal herself thus to Jolar.

  “Companion” Jolar exclaimed. “You think tseriya means companion?” he asked incredulously.

  “Was it Zoran who told you that?” he asked after an infinitesimal pause, his voice working hard to hide his amusement.

  Saakshi nodded mutely, very much ill at ease, and wondering madly how to turn the conversation into more innocuous channels.

  “Tseriya means ‘of the heart and from the soul’. I guess the closest word in most vocabularies would be ‘beloved of the soul” Jolar said with a creditable effort at blandness, though Saakshi couldn’t fail to notice the amusement dancing in his eyes.

  “Beloved of the ... You mean soulmate” she exclaimed incredulously. “Tseriya means soulmate but Zoran …” she stopped.

  “Very much so” Jolar agreed with her silent assessment.

  “Apologies” Zoran’s words drifted across to them, as he strapped on his wristlet before striding towards them. The few seconds it took him to get to the table and glance up at them was sufficient for Saakshi to rearrange her expression for his benefit. Jolar had revealed enough for her to ponder on, and Saakshi was determined to do so in private before she broached anything to Zoran.

  “That was the Station Commander. He’s throwing a party to celebrate the new coalition. My mercs are all invited.”

  He paused to shoot a glance at Saakshi’s curiously blank expression and his friend’s blandly amused one.

  “Did I miss anything?” he asked.

  Saakshi threw an imploring look at Jolar.

  “I was just asking Saakshi about her work on TF124.”

  His friend’s words seemed to satisfy Zoran, though he shot a suspicious look at both Jolar and Saakshi before continuing.

  “The party is in four nights. Will I see you there?” he directed at Saakshi, his interest in her blunt and direct.

  Saakshi took a deep breath before responding affirmatively. Though planning to skip it before, she wouldn’t miss it for the world now. Jolar shot her a look, his eyes full of knowing amusement, and it spurred Saakshi into hasty speech.

  “I should let the BelDaap know I want to change my shift for the night of the party.”

  At Saakshi’s words, something flashed in the depths of the
black eyes, and Zoran’s expression went deliberately blank.

  He’s furious about this, just like that night at BelDaap. But why?

  Jolar studied them both with an air of palpable curiosity.

  “Saakshi works at the local alehouse some evenings” Zoran said to his friend, his words clipped and his expression reigned in.

  “Why?” Jolar asked her incredulously.

  And suddenly, it hit Saakshi like a ton of bricks. She had unintentionally rejected Zoran yet again! Zoran had made sure to find her a position that allowed her a role in the new coalition he’d strung together. A coalition intended to help free the Budheya from nearly two centuries of subjugation, his intentions purely influenced by his feelings for her, if Jolar was to be believed. And what she done? She had thrown his thoughtfulness back in his face, just like her reaction to his gift of the Terilian silk dress. No wonder he was furious. He had moved mountains to change her dire circumstances and she had ensured that his first glimpse of her in the life he had fought so hard to build for her was as a server in an alehouse - back where he’d originally found her on Keeyor 9. It must have seemed like a slap on his face, Saakshi thought miserably.

  By the Pura, what a fool I’ve been. How do I fix this?

  Saakshi looked directly into Zoran’s furious eyes that even the blank expression on his face could not hide.

  “The alehouse needed experienced servers and I had my evenings free. I won’t be working at the BelDaap once they have a new server.”

  She would have a chat with the alehouse owner first thing tomorrow, she determined.