Free gaian consortium 03 - the gaia gambit by Christine Pope Page B

those brows didn’t move at all, however. Then his shoulders lifted. “I was worried about you.”
    “You were — ” She broke off then, thinking she would explode into hysterical laughter if she said anything else. Worried about her? That was rich. Too bad he hadn’t been so worried about what might happen to her when that squad of five Stacian cruisers showed up in the Chlorae system to engage the Gaian forces there. “No, really, why are you here? Making sure the disgraced captain stays safely out of the way? Or did you realize you’d better make sure I kept silent so I would never reveal what happened between us? I can’t imagine your commanding officers would be too thrilled by the information. I know mine weren’t.”
    Again he was silent. Thinking of the best lie to hand her, probably.
    After a long moment, he said, “Is this really what you think of me? That I meant to deliberately disgrace you? That I was a party to the murder of innocent colonists?”
    Surely he couldn’t be that obtuse, or believe her to be that stupid. “What else? Oh, maybe it was a calculated risk, a gamble to see whether my superiors would recall me from my post so the way would be clear for a Stacian incursion, but it all worked out very neatly for you, didn’t it?”
    “Precisely,” he cut in. He glanced around, as if to make sure the area was clear of listening ears or spying eyes. Even though they were alone, with only the background noise of passing traffic and the rustling of the cycads planted in the courtyard to keep them company, he lowered his tone. “It was too neat. And it was none of my doing.”
    “Whose doing was it?”
    Again he paused. “I wanted to see you because I feared you would think I somehow plotted your downfall. Lira, I did not. I swear this to you on the bones of my ancestors.”
    A strong oath for a Stacian. The strongest, perhaps, although Stacian cultural studies were not her area of expertise. She forced a dusty little chuckle. “Then what? Just horrible luck?”
    “No.” He reached out and took her hands in his, fingers strong and warm around hers. And although her first instinct was to pull back, to step away from any contact with him, something in his eyes stopped her, something pleading and fierce. “I thought about this, Lira. I thought a good deal. We were maneuvered, you and I, although you came off the worst for it. I knew nothing about those five cruisers lying in wait — I swear this to you also. But my admiral certainly did…and possibly yours did as well.”
    She stared at him. That didn’t make any sense. Why would Admiral Horner collude with the Stacians to destroy his own people, to make sure Chlorae II and its valuable resources fell into enemy hands?
    It had to be Iradia’s dust that made her mouth and throat suddenly so dry. “That’s ridiculous.”
    “I thought so as well — at first. But think, Lira. My superior officer makes a wager with me that I can’t refuse. The fallout from that wager is your removal from command. And the consequence of that removal is Chlorae II left undefended, and easy prey for the Stacian squadron that just happened to be in the vicinity. Too many coincidences, don’t you think?”
    Only one word seemed to penetrate her brain. “Wager?” she demanded, and abruptly pulled her hands from his. “That’s why you asked me to come to you? For a goddamn bet ?”
    His mouth tightened. “Such a thing has far greater weight with us Stacians. We — ”
    “Fuck the Stacians,” she said clearly. “And fuck you, too.”
    She wheeled away from him, thinking it was a good thing the officials in Aldis Nova didn’t allow civilians to carry sidearms. Not that the stricture affected Gared Tomas and his thugs, but she didn’t need to go armed. Everyone knew who she worked for.
    Before she had gone a single foot, Rast reached out and grasped her by the sleeve of her jacket and pulled her back toward him. Instinctively, she jerked backward,