Free Black Fire by Sonni Cooper Page B

asked, passing him a cup of water. "I could find no wounds."
    "I seem to be in one piece," he reassured her, "except for my old injury. How did I get here?"
    "IIsa ordered you carried to the ship. Her comrades wanted to leave you with the other wounded, but she wouldn't give in. You've been unconscious for a long time. I think there is a guard outside the door just waiting to finish you off."
    "I wonder what IIsa's motive was in preserving my life?"
    "You must be blind, Spock. She's obviously in love with you."
    "Don't be absurd, Julina. She's of an entirely different species. It wouldn't be possible … it's not logical …"
    Julina laughed. "Since when did logic have anything to do with our situation? I'd say that's the last thing a Tomariian could be accused of."
    "Indeed," Spock said seriously, "but if you are correct, we are in grave difficulty. There is no way I can return any interest in her."
    "And," Julina added, "she is jealous of me."
    "Is that so?" Spock raised an eyebrow. "I hadn't noticed."
    "You wouldn't," Julina replied matter-of-factly.
    The door to their chamber opened and IIsa came toward Spock. She examined him from head to foot with clinical thoroughness; finding no obvious wound, she looked relieved. Spock, trying to maintain some dignity throughout the examination, retreated far into himself until she had completed her probing. Satisfied that Spock was not seriously injured, IIsa swept past Julina, giving her a warning glare, and then she left them without saying a word. Shortly after her departure, a guard entered and moved Julina to another part of the ship.
    She was correct
, Spock thought.
We will have to be very careful from now on
.
    Back on Tomarii, the returning armies went to their different camps while the officers of the three attack groups met in council. The large audience chamber was full of strutting warriors talking in loud voices, boasting of their exploits in the recent battles. The brief Tomariian cycle of severe cold had ended; the dull, red sun was closer, making the planet's temperature at least tolerable for the returned captives. Spock speculated on the change in the weather, trying to calculate the orbit of the planet around its sun. It was good mental exercise, keeping his mind off his discomfort and IIsa's more pronounced advances toward him. He hadn't conferred with Julina since his return to Tomarii.
    On a view-screen set into the stone wall of the large room was a projected image of the Tomariian Empire. Spock and Julina, never far from IIsa, were in the rear of the room studying the chart intently.
    "If what we see indicated on the map is true, and I have no reason to doubt it, the Tomariians' sphere of influence is spread over extensive territory," Spock observed to Julina. "It is more than one-eighth of the known galaxy."
    "The Klingon Empire is closest to that of the Tomariians," Julina said. "It would be interesting to observe the conflict when they overlap."
    "From what I have observed, that will merely be a matter of time," Spock commented.
    IIob reported his defeat in great detail, promising a much better showing in the next invasion attempt. The other generals, smug with their victories, gave lavish accounts of their exploits. After the formal reports, IIsa ordered silence.
    "It is time for us to discuss our prisoners' performance."
    Spock's attention became sharply focused, but he and Julina were hustled out of the room before the discussion got started. Spock had difficulty hearing the reports from the adjoining room, where they were put, in spite of his highly developed auditory sense.
    IIob spoke first. "Montgomery is a fine engineer and an adequate soldier. I found no complaint with him. He was brave in battle. The Romulans also proved good soldiers. Unfortunately, one of them was killed by the Paxans. Scott and Placus behaved strangely. The human placed himself before the Romulan in an attempt to protect him. When the human took a Paxan dart, the Romulan