Fortune's Wheel

  Fortune's Wheel

  Lisanne Norman

  Copyright © 1995 by Lisanne Norman.

  All Rights Reserved.

  Cover art by Romas Kukalis.

  DAW Book Collectors No. 996.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  If you purchase this book without a cover you should be aware that this book may have been stolen property and reported as "unsold anddestroyed" to the publisher. In such case neither the author nor the publisher has received any^payment for this "stripped book."

  First Printing, August 1995 4 5 6 7 8 9

  DAW TRADEMARK REGISTERED

  U.S. PAT. OFF. AND FOREIGN COUNTRIES

  ——MARCA REGISTRADA.

  HECHO EN U.S.A.

  For my son Kai, and my brother Richard, who enrich my days by sharing with me their unique outlookon life, and because I love them both dearly.

  With special thanks to the following people and their expertise, Sholan Medical Guild Master - June

  Third

  Commander of the Sholan Forces - John Quadling

  Adjutant & Adviser to the Commander - Gina Quadling

  Sholan Tactical Commander - Steve Barrett

  Sholan Technical Commander - Andrew Stephenson

  Sholan Brotherhood sub-Guild Master - Les Heasman

  Sholan Telepath Guild Master - Sherry Ward

  Sholan Communications sub-Commanders - Linda Apperley - Judith Faul

  Sholan Research & Development - Merlin Sholan Catering - Mike Hawkes

  PART I

  KHALOSSA

  Prologue

  Adjutant Myak pressed the chime on the outside of Com-mander Raguul's private quarters and waited. He could have used the comm, but both he and the Commander preferred the personal touch. As thedoor slid open, he stifled a yawn, extending his claws to scratch vigorously behind his left ear. He'd getno more sleep that night either. The starship Khalossa was already on Yellow 2 alert.

  Commander Raguul lay propped up on one elbow, regard-ing him balefully. The set of his ears showedhis irritation at being disturbed in the middle of his night.

  "Yes, Myak?"

  "The duty crew thought you'd like to know we've just re-ceived a transmission from the Sirroki, sir."

  "The Sirrokil" Raguul frowned, ears flicking briefly. "She's the one that missed the rendezvous in the

  sixth quad-rant, isn't she?"

  "That's right, sir. You just posted her as officially miss-ing."

  "You didn't wake me just for that, surely. What was it this time? Not more freak storms?"

  "Not this time, sir. They've found the Others." Myak could hardly keep his tail from swaying with

  pleasure.

  Raguul sat up. "Found them?"

  "Yes, sir. The Sirroki was shot down by them on a planet designated as KX 1311. Our people are in

  hiding with a sec-ond group of aliens and request that we go to their aid."

  "Natives, eh?"

  "Not natives, sir, colonists, a new species. Sub-Commander Kolem thought you might want to hear the

  original transmis-sion yourself."

  Raguul was already out of bed and dressing. "Tell me about the Others," he ordered as he pressed theseals on his jacket.

  "They've a substantial base on the planet, plus two domed cities and garrison posts at each of the four

  colony towns. They're capable of putting up a formidable resistance."

  "Has—whatzisname—transmitted the locations of these occupied zones?" demanded the Commander,

  fumbling with his belt.

  Myak moved forward to help him. "Captain Garras, sir. Communications is still decoding the message,but we be-lieve so."

  "These colonists, what're they like?"

  "They're upright and bilateral like us, and there's a tele-path among them," said Myak, stepping back as

  he finished with die Commander's belt.

  Raguul's tail began to flick as his ears and head swiveled round to look at Myak. "Telepaths, you say."

  "Yes, sir. It seems that our telepath has formed a link to one of the female colonists."

  "Has he now?" Raguul took the brush Myak was holding out toward him and, flattening his ears out of

  the way, ran it cursorily across the top of his head. He handed it back to his adjutant.

  "Apparently, sir," said Myak, returning the brush to the night table.

  "Any more tactical details such as the numbers of the Others on the planet, their firepower, capabilities of

  their craft?"

  "There could be, sir. As I said, they're still decoding the message," replied Myak, following the

  Commander out.

  "Has a course been set for KX 1311?"

  "They're waiting for your orders, sir."

  "Tell die bridge to have a chart of sector six set up on the main screen."

  When Raguul reached the bridge, it was humming with suppressed excitement. Sub-Commander Kolemrose from his seat, offering it to the Commander. With a nod of thanks, Raguul sat down.

  "Have you finished decoding the message?" he asked.

  "Just finished, sir," said Communications. "Putting it on audio now."

  Raguul and his bridge crew sat and listened to the voice of Mito Rralgu, the communications officer fromthe scouter

  Sirroki. Though terse, the message held all the information they had hoped it would.

  Getting to his feet again, Raguul turned to Sub-Commander Kolem. "I want yourself, Tactics, Weapons,and Sub-Commander Chaazu in my briefing room today at the fourth hour. See that the chart of sectorsix is set up on the holo-table. Keep the ship on Yellow 2 alert and ensure Chaazu gets the message. With a week of transit time ahead of us, I want those ground troops of his ready before we reach KX 1311."

  "Yes, sir."

  "In the meantime, relay that message to my comm. Sholan High Command will want to hear it. The

  bridge is yours."

  "Aye, sir."

  * * *

  Raguul was finishing his meal in the bridge mess when he was paged through the comm system.

  "Approaching KX 1311 now, sir," said Sub-Commander Kolem's voice.

  With a growl of annoyance, he gulped down his mug of c'shar and got to his feet. Changing his mind, heturned and neatly speared the remaining piece of meat with a clawtip. These disturbed meals weren'tdoing his gut-ache any good. Up until a week ago this had been a boring, routine mis-sion. He had afeeling it wasn't going to last. Mop-up oper-ations had a way of getting very messy.

  Kolem rose and stood aside for the Commander.

  Raguul waved him back. "Sit, sit. I'll stand for now," he said, looking at the view screen displaying the

  KX 1311 sys-tem. "I presume there's no sign yet of that back-up we were promised?"

  "Not yet, sir."

  A sudden burst of sound filled the bridge, then stopped.

  "Our long-range scanners have activated a coded message from the life pod, sir," said the comm officer.

  "Get onto it immediately," said Raguul.

  ''I'm picking up an incoming signal in sector five, sir," said Navigation. "It's an Alliance fleet identity. They

  should be on screen any moment now."

  A portion of the upper right-hand quadrant of the screen appeared to waver, then steady as a group ofships material-ized out of jump.

  "Identities coming in now, sir. Battleship Cheku, accom-panied by the cruisers T'chelu, Rryabi, Vriji,

  and the Vek'ihk, a Sumaan craft."

  "Signal from the Cheku, sir," said the secondary commu-nications officer. "Cheku's comm officer says Commander Vroozoi wishes to speak to you in private. He adds that the tanker and escort ships are
following."

  "Patch it through to my briefing room," said Raguul, turn-ing away from the screen.

  "Force Commander," said Raguul, a flick of his ears ac-knowledging the other's superior rank. "What

  can I do for you?"

  "Raguul. I see you struck it lucky this time," said Vroozoi. "High Command says you've found a den of

  these Others."

  "Yes, Commander. As you know, our report says there are only a few thousand of them on the planet. Though I doubt we'll need all your firepower, it's still comforting to have it. We aren't equipped for an extended military campaign."

  "Each to his own, eh, Raguul?" Vroozoi dropped his mouth in a lazy smile. "That's why we're here." His tone changed and became sharper, more businesslike. "I want you to join me an hour from now for a tactical briefing. You'll get a copy of your new orders then. Your assault craft will remain on the Khalossa, but they and their crews will form an integrated part of my task force. Once the planet has been secured, you'll be in charge of the diplomatic side. I'll see you within the hour," he said, reaching forward to close the channel.

  Raguul frowned at the comm. He'd come across Vroozoi before. An ambitious male, that one,determined to climb as high as he could within the forces. Rumor had it that there were more than a fewpeople who had had the misfortune to be between him and what he wanted. Their shattered careerslittered his past like fallen leaves. Raguul didn't intend to become one of them.

  He sighed and, leaning forward, paged Myak, requesting him to join him. Switching off the comm, he gotto his feet and headed back to his bridge.

  Sub-Lieutenant Draz looked up from the scanner display as the Commander reentered the bridge. "Scans show no sig-nals going in or out. I'd hazard a guess that our people have done some heavydamage to their coastal base. The Others appear to be blind and deaf."

  "Let's hope you're right. The last thing we want is a pro-longed campaign. I'll take that seat now, Kolem,"

  he said. "Order my shuttle made ready. I'm to join Vroozoi on the Cheku within the hour."

  "Yes, sir," said Kolem, hurriedly standing up and moving to one side.

  "Message decoded, sir. It's for our resident Leskas," said the communications officer.

  "What?" Raguul swung round to face him.

  "It's from the Sirroki's telepath, Kusac Alda, to our Leska pair."

  "You said that," said Raguul testily. "What's it say?"

  "It's security coded, sir," the comm officer said apologet-ically.

  "Then pass it on, and tell them I expect an explanation," said Raguul, pressing his hand to his stomach as

  a stab of pain hit him. He grimaced as he kneaded his gut to relieve the pressure. He just knew this

  mission was going to be messy. Some people had weather-wise joints. He had a trouble-predicting gut.

  "Message incoming from Shola, sir," called out the sec-ondary comm officer.

  Raguul stifled a groan. This was all he needed. "I'll take it on the main screen. Patch it through."

  The image of Chief Commander Chuz of the Sholan High Command replaced the view of KX 1311.

  "Commander Raguul," he said, ears flicking in acknowl-edgment. "You've located the Others."

  "Yes, Chief Commander Chuz. We've located some of them at least. Seems they were using this planet as a hospital and R & R base. They call themselves Valtegans. I'll be able to tell you more when we're in contact with our people on the surface."

  "I want information from these Valtegans as soon as pos-sible, Raguul; so does Alien Relations. I've put you in charge of interrogating all prisoners. I want to know as a matter of urgency why they destroyed our colony worlds. AlRel also wants information collected on this new species of natives. Get your First Contact people onto that. Send us the results of the Sirroki's debriefing as soon as you have it; at least it'll give us a starting point." He stopped talking to glance briefly to one side.

  "I've been asked to remind you to convey the message from Konis Aldatan to Kusac Alda as soon as possible. Until we received your report regarding the Sirroki and the Others, Konis had no idea where his son was. Kusac disappeared a year ago and hasn't been in touch since." ^

  "I'll pass the message on, Chief Commander."

  "Good. Keep me informed of your progress." The screen went blank.

  A glass of white liquid appeared in front of Raguul. He took it gratefully from Myak. "Thank you," hesaid, down-ing the contents and handing the empty glass back to his ad-jutant. "Couldn't you make ittaste more palatable?" he asked.

  "I'm afraid not, sir. I'd have to see the dispensary about that."

  "Then do it, please. I've a feeling I'm going to be taking a lot of this vile brew."

  "Rhian and Askad, our resident Leska pair, are waiting, sir," said Myak.

  "Send them in."

  The two telepaths came onto the bridge. One look at the set of their ears and Raguul knew their newswas not good.

  "Commander, we're here to report on the message we re-ceived from the life pod. It was from Kusac

  Alda, telepath on the Sirroki," said Rhian, the female.

  Raguul nodded and waited.

  Rhian looked at Askad.

  "Well?" prompted Raguul. "One of you had better tell | me!"

  "Kusac's requested our intercession on behalf of his Leska," said Askad.

  Raguul frowned at them, his ears flicking briefly. "His Leska, you say. As far as I'm aware, he doesn'thave a Leska. Myak, what do you know about this?"

  "We have him listed as a grade five telepath, Commander. At that basic a level of talent they don't form

  Leska Links," replied his adjutant.

  "I'm afraid he has one now, Commander," said Askad. "His Leska isn't a Sholan, she's one of the people

  who live on the planet. A Terran."

  Raguul closed his eyes. "His Leska is an alien?"

  "Yes, sir. He's asked that we meet him on Keiss and…" began Rhian.

  "Keiss?"

  "What they call their world, sir. He wants us to meet him on Keiss and take charge of his Leska. He's

  afraid of her be-ing seen as a specimen for the Medics to study. Apparently she's a healer."

  Raguul took a deep breath and opened his eyes. "What in Vartra's name is he trying to do?" The questionwas rhetor-ical. "We meet another telepathic species for the first time in five hundred years and he goesand forms a Leska Link to one of them without even a by your leave! They haven't even beeninvestigated yet! Surely even the densest cub would be aware of the diplomatic implications. I'll have hishide on my wall for this!" he promised grimly.

  "Commander, you can't create a Leska Link," said Rhian. "It's a gift from the Gods. It just happens to

  you, you have no power over it."

  "He's not responsible for forming the link, Commander," said Askad.

  Raguul let loose a string of invectives. "Then you'd better get permission from Mentor Mnya to go downto this… Keiss… when it's been secured!"

  "Yes, sir."

  "See to it now. Dismissed!"

  When they'd left, he turned to Myak. "This situation has all the makings of a powder keg ready to blowup under us. What the hell is Kusac playing at? With his background he should know better!"

  "Oh, it gets better, sir," said Myak quietly. "While Rhian and Askad were with you, contact was established with Cap-tain Garras of the Sirroki. He's requested an armed escort for Iris first officer who is under arrest for mutiny. He Chal-lenged Kusac Alda against orders. This same male is making allegations against Kusac of mentally controlling this Terran female and forcing her to become his Leska for sexual rea-sons. I know, sir," he said, seeing his Commander's eye ridges go up. "That means Kusac and his Leska will have to face a Telepath Guild hearing."

  '"As you said, it gets better by the minute," said Raguul testily. "The Gods know what Vroozoi will make of all this! So Kusac's a runaway, is he? Well, at least he's shown more spirit than most telepaths! His father's going to create some

  Chapter I
>
  "I think you'd better come and see this for yourselves," called Davis from his concealed position at the

  mouth of the cave.

  Garras, sitting near the entrance, pricked his ears, turning to face the circle of daylight.

  Mito leaped to her feet and ran outside. "They've come!" she yelled, her voice all but drowned out by thenow audible sound of high level airborne vehicles. There was a general rush to the cave mouth aseveryone surged into the open to stare up at the approaching craft. Even as they watched, a group ofthem banked toward the Valtegan base, the faint glow of energy weapons lancing down. Plumes ofsmoke be-gan to rise, accompanied by the sounds of distant explo-sions.

  "All right!" yelled Davies, waving his rifle in the air as a salute to the avenging craft.

  "My God, the sky's almost black with them," said Skin-ner, watching as more vehicles headed out

  toward Geshader and Tashkerra.

  "They certainly know where they're going," said Nelson. He turned to Mito. "Just what did you put in that

  message?"

  "The location of every strategic Valtegan unit," she said smugly. "It seems they got the message

  correctly."

  "Get under cover," ordered Skinner. "We're far from safe yet, this is only the beginning." He pointed to the south where some Valtegan craft had just taken to the air. "If they see us, we've nowhere to hide. Believe me, within hours this planet will be crawling with Valtegans trying to escape cap-ture. Get moving!" he bellowed as everyone hesitated, torn between a desire to watch the forthcoming aerial battle and the need to remain hidden.

  There was a mad scramble to get back under cover and to secure a good vantage point at the mouth ofthe cave. Garras took advantage of the confusion to have a quiet word with Skinner, who glancedsharply at Guynor, then nodded. Casu-ally, he went over to Anders and Hughes, drawing them aside. Afew words with them and they returned to the group at the cave mouth, flanking Guynor on either side.

  Having observed the interchange, Kusac limped over to where Carrie stood on tiptoe, trying vainly to seeover the heads of Jo, Edwards, and Davies.

  "I told you they would come," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

  "You were right," she said, her tone somber. "Time doesn't stop for anyone."